Consequences
by Cat C
Summary: Every action has its consequence. The crew learns just how true this is. Final Chapter!
1. Default Chapter

****

Consequences

Every action has its consequence. The crew learns just how true this is.

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. I'm not sure how long this will be - I have a general idea but am just coming up with this as I write. Please review and let me know if I should continue.

Chapter 1

Tom Paris rushed onto the bridge and stumbled slightly on his way down to his station at the conn.

"You're late, Ensign." the Captain stated as she frowned at Tom. "This is the second time, this week. You are aware of Starfleet procedures in reporting to your duty station on time, are you not?"

"Yes, Captain. I'm sorry, it won't happen again." Tom answered as he took his place at the helm. Chakotay noted that Tom was moving rather stiffly and slowly. _'I need to have a little chat with Paris when his shift is over.' _Chakotay thought as he looked down at the helm. Tom was usually very conscientious about his duties.

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Harry Kim watched the interplay between Captain Janeway and Tom Paris. Tom had been very quiet lately and hadn't shown up at the Sandrine's program on Holodeck Two in over a week. Harry knew that Tom had gone through a very difficult time after the incident with the Moneans. Even though Tom had his rank reduced to Ensign and spent 30 days in solitary confinement, Harry knew that some members of the crew felt that he had gotten off too easy.

__

'I need to talk with Tom at lunch. Something's bothering him and I know he doesn't have very many people he feels comfortable talking to.' Harry thought back to when they both boarded Voyager at Deep Space 9............

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Harry Kim couldn't understand why the Starfleet crew were so cold and distant to Tom Paris, the observer for this mission. _'What exactly was a civilian observer doing on the newest Starfleet vessel? Were the rumors about Tom being cashiered out of Starfleet true?'_

Later, in the mess hall, Tom confirmed all of the rumors that Harry had heard. Even when Tom told him to listen to the advise and stay away from him, Harry refused. He felt like he was back in high school and his parents were telling him who he could hang out with. Harry sensed that underneath the bravado and bluff, Tom genuinely cared about people and deserved a chance.

Harry was proven right, on the Ocampan home world, when Tom saved him and B'Elanna in the cave. He then went back for Captain Janeway, Tuvok, and Chakotay, the Maquis Captain. He even saved Chakotay's life although the man's hard feelings towards Tom were clear.

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Warning klaxons sounding loudly throughout the bridge, brought Harry out of his reverie. "Red alert! All hands, red alert!!" the Captain shouted. "Ensign Kim, report! What do your sensors show?"

"A Kazon vessel off starboard, Captain. They've fired phasers at us." The bridge shuddered as the Kazon phasers made contact with the ship.

"Kazon! Aren't they traveling a little far from home?" Tom asked.

"Evasive maneuvers, Mr. Paris." The Captain looked to the helm. Tom's fingers flew over the helm controls and the ship banked sharply to port. "Mr. Tuvok, why didn't our long range sensors pick them up sooner?" She asked, as she turned to the tactical station.

"They may have a cloaking device, Captain." Tuvok answered as he rechecked his console. "I don't believe they are in pursuit."

"Cancel red alert." The Captain said as she looked to the Ops station. "Damage reports, Mr. Kim."

"Significant damage to the starboard nacelles. Fires reported in engineering. Injury reports coming in from sickbay."

"Sickbay to the bridge. Come in please." the Doctor's voice came over the com system.

"Yes, Doctor. What are the injuries?"

"We have about 10 crew members with burns and broken bones. I could use Ensign Paris's assistance here."

"He's on his way, Doctor." the Captain answered as she motioned to Tom to report to sickbay. He rose from the helm and made his way to the turbolift. Again, Chakotay noted that the Ensign was moving slower than usual.

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__

'I hope B'Elanna wasn't injured.' Tom thought as the lift headed to sickbay. The doors to sickbay opened and Tom rushed in. There were people on all of the biobeds, sitting on stools, and lying on the floor. The Doctor tossed Tom a tricorder and walked back to the surgical bay. 

"Begin triage, Ensign and treat the burns first." The Doctor seemed to emphasize Tom's new rank. Tom turned to the nearest biobed and ran the tricorder over Lt. Joe Carey.

"You have some second degree burns and your left wrist is broken, Lieutenant . I'll give you something for the pain, now. Can you sit here until I've checked the others?" He grabbed a hypo spray and held it to the Lieutenant's neck. "I'll be fine, Tom. Go see to the others."

Tom circled the room, scanning the injured and reassuring the engineers. He didn't see B'Elanna among the crew and relief flooded through him. He calmly treated the burns and healed the broken bones with an osteoregenerator.

When the last patient had been treated, Tom joined the Doctor at the surgical bay. Sue Nicoletti lay under a blue medical blanket with the bed's arch over her torso. "She sustained the most severe injuries since she was closest to the console that exploded. Second and third degree burns on her face, arms, and chest, three broken ribs, and she suffered smoke inhalation as well." "Will she be OK?" Tom asked as he gently touched Sue's hand.

"Yes, Ensign. I have her on respiratory support until her lungs are completely healed. She should be able to return to duty in 48 hours. You may return to the bridge now." The Doctor dismissed Tom and walked back into his office. He didn't notice as Tom slipped an osteoregenerator and hypospray inside his jacket sleeves.

Tom entered the turbolift and leaned against the back wall with a relieved look on his face. "Deck 6." The doors opened and Tom made his way to his quarters. He slid open the doors on a cabinet in the bathroom and placed the items he 'borrowed' from sick bay next to a dermal regenerator and two other hyposprays.

to be continued............


	2. Chapter 2

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Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

Chapter 2

"Ensign Kim to Tom Paris." Harry's voice suddenly came through his com badge, startling Tom. "Paris here."  
  
"I'm in the mess hall, aren't you coming to lunch?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. I'll be right there." Tom answered, as he closed the cabinet door and walked out of his bathroom. He looked around his cabin and noted that everything looked normal. He then left and headed for the mess hall.

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Tom joined the line at the counter while looking around the room for Harry. He spotted him at a corner table, sitting with B'Elanna. Several crewmen came bustling into the mess hall and walked up close to Tom.   
  
"Ever notice how even a traitor gets off easy with the Captain." One of the men muttered, to his companions, just loud enough for Tom to hear. Tom quickly picked out something that looked fairly edible and went to join Harry and B'Elanna at their table.  
  
"B'Elanna, I was so glad to find out that you were not hurt. What exactly happened in engineering this morning?" Tom gave B'Elanna a smile as he sat down across from her.  
  
"That phaser blast, from the Kazon ship, blew out several banks of EPS conduits. The panels ignited and caused the burns. Sue Nicoletti was standing right in front of the main console. I'm glad the doctor says she will fully recover."  
  
"Yes, I saw her in sickbay. She should be out for at least another 10 hours. Doc has her on respiratory support until her lungs are completely healed."

"Where the hell did a Kazon ship come from? And why didn't sensors pick them up before they were in firing range?" B'Elanna asked of her two companions.  
  
"Tuvok thinks they may have some sort of cloaking device." Harry answered  
  
"Where would the Kazon get a cloaking device?" B'Elanna asked.

"We haven't run into anyone here in the Delta Quadrant with that kind of technology." Tom commented.  
  
The three friends continued their discussion about the attack, that morning, while finishing their lunch.  
  
"Well, Harry. We're due back on the bridge in about 10 minutes. Better get going." Tom remarked as he stood and took his tray to the recycler. One of the crewmen from telemetry was standing at the recycler and turned into Tom, just as he began to put his tray inside, knocking it from his hands onto the floor.   
  
"Sorry, Ensign. Guess I'm getting clumsy. You need to watch where your going, accidents are highly likely on a ship like this." the man muttered under his breath with a smirk on his face.  
  
Tom bent down and picked up the remains of his lunch and placed them in the recycler. He then headed off to the bridge with Harry. When they reached the turbolift, Tuvok was already inside.  
  
_'Now wouldn't be a good time to ask Tom what's wrong.'_ Harry thought. _'I'll have to catch him tonight.'_

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They returned to the bridge and Tom quietly resumed his post at the helm. Chakotay noted that Tom was moving faster and more easily than he had that morning. _'Something's going on with Paris. I need to speak with him later.'  
_  
"Commander, I'd like to see you in my ready room." the Captain's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"On my way." Chakotay stood and headed for the ready room. "You have the bridge, Tuvok."

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As Chakotay entered the ready room, he noted the Captain was sitting at her desk, absorbed in the information on her monitor.

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Chakotay." She answered as she stood and went to her replicator. "Coffee, black. Would you care for anything?"

"Tea would be fine, Captain."

Janeway retrieved the two mugs and moved to the couch. "Sit, please. I've reviewed our sensor logs for the past 24 hours. Tell me why a Kazon ship was in this sector and why our sensors didn't pick it up?"

"I'm more curious as to why they didn't pursue us. They fired that one phaser blast and then basically let us go."

"As soon as repairs are done in engineering, I want to return to those coordinates and survey the area. I also want Ensign Kim and Seven to try to boost our scanner arrays to look for any trace of Kazon activity."

"I'll have them get on it right away." Chakotay finished his tea as the Captain stood and returned to her desk.

"Captain, have you noticed a change in Tom Paris over the past week?"

"Yes, he's much quieter than usual but that stands to reason, especially around me. It's going to take a while until he's comfortable with his new rank and being back on duty. I understand that he had some rough nights in the brig." Her expression softened. "I was unaware how claustrophobic he is."

"Yes, Lt. Ayala reported several nights where Tom seemed quite distressed. Maybe you're right. After he settles down, his behavior and attitude should improve." Chakotay replied as he moved towards the door. _'I still intend to keep a close eye on Mr. Paris.'_ he thought to himself. _'Something more is going on with him.'_ "Captain, I'll go down to Astrometrics and speak with Seven regarding the sensor arrays."

"Very well, Commander." Janeway replied as she returned to her monitor and Chakotay left the ready room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of Alpha shift went smoothly and Tom turned over the helm controls to the Beta shift pilot. He stood and headed immediately for the turbolift.  


"Hey, Tom. How about a game of pool after dinner?" Harry asked as he rushed into the lift before the doors slid closed.  
  
"Oh, sure, Harry. I'd love to relieve you of more replicator rations." Tom replied with a sly grin on his face. "See you about 1900 hours?"  
  
"What about dinner?" 

"I'll just grab something in my quarters. I have to finish up some con reports for Chakotay."  


"OK, see you at Sandrine's." Harry remarked as he headed for the mess hall.

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Tom keyed in his entry code and walked into his cabin. At first glance, it looked exactly as he had left it before lunch. He pulled off his jacket as he entered his bedroom. There, in the middle of the bed, lay a PADD. A chill went down his spine as he picked it up. He turned it on and a single word was displayed - TRAITOR.

__

'Not again. How did they get past my new security lock out?" Tom shivered slightly as he continued to change out of his uniform. _'I think I'll join Harry for dinner in the mess hall after all.' _Tom decided. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a royal blue T-shirt.Takinganother look around his quarters he went into the hall and headed for the turbolift.

"Deck 2. Mess hall." he instructed the computer.

to be continued............


	3. Chapter 3

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

Chapter 3

Tom entered the mess hall and noticed Harry sitting alone at a small table in the corner of the room. He went down the serving line and took a double helping of Neelix's Dinner Surprise. It was bright orange and looked like some sort of stew. _'I hope this is edible. I'm starving since I didn't have time for lunch today.'_ he thought as he went to join Harry,.

"Hey, Tom. I thought you were working on conn reports."

"I'm sort of out of replicator rations so I thought I'd join you. I'll get to the reports tonight." Tom answered with a distracted look on his face.

"So, are you really coming to Sandrine's tonight? You haven't been there for the past week."

"Like I said, Harry. I could use the rations." Tom began to pick at his food. "This stuff is pretty spicy."

Tom looked like his thoughts were light years away. _'Something is going on with Tom.'_ Harry was worried about his friend. He still thought that the Captain had been rather harsh with Tom, especially after he had gotten permission to see him in the brig. Tom did not handle solitary confinement well and had been having nightmares. 

"Tom, is everything OK? You've been too quiet and no one's seen you after your duty shifts lately."

"Oh, I'm fine, Har. Just catching up on reports. Chakotay's having me run diagnostics on the helm and the shuttles. I suspect he thinks that I've forgotten how to fly after 30 days off the conn. I'm also overseeing the final repairs to the Delta Flyer."

"Before you know it, you'll be Lieutenant Paris again."

"Harry, do you really think I care all that much about rank? I disobeyed a direct order from the Captain herself. I got what I deserved. Now, eat up and let's hit that pool table."

They finished their meal in relative silence and headed for Holodeck two. They didn't notice that their conversation, as well as their exit from the mess hall, were closely observed.

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Tom and Harry entered Sandrine's and went to a table near the bar. Several crewmembers were engaged in an impromptu pool tournament. 

"Well, I guess we'll have to wait for the table to be free. I'll get us a couple of drinks while we're waiting." Tom walked off to the bar and spoke softly to Sandrine. He returned with two glasses and a bottle of scotch. "Drink up, Harry." he declared as he poured two drinks.

"Tom, scotch?" Harry looked at the bottle in astonishment.

Tom quickly downed his glass and poured another. "Sure, Har, scotch. It's a man's drink."

"Tom, I'm not sure about this. We both have the Alpha shift tomorrow."

"So, we leave early and get a good night's sleep. No problem." Tom answered as he glanced at the pool table. "Looks like we're up next." he grabbed his glass and the bottle of scotch and wandered over to the cue rack. Harry followed slowly but left his glass on the table.

Tom racked up the balls, grabbed the chalk, and started to put it on the end of his cue. Harry selected a cue from the rack and walked over to the table. Suddenly Chakotay's voice came over his com badge. "Ensign Kim, this is Commander Chakotay. Could you please report to Astrometrics. The Captain wants you to begin working on the sensor arrays."

"Yes, Sir. I'm on my way." Harry answered and put his cue back in the rack.

"Damn! We finally get the table and Chakotay assigns you to an extra shift in Astrometrics!" Tom griped.

"Sorry, Tom. We'll do this tomorrow night, OK?" Harry turned and left Sandrine's.

"Sure, Har, tomorrow." Tom mumbled at Harry's back. He went to the bar bringing the scotch with him.

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When Harry entered Astrometrics, he found Seven and Captain Janeway working at the main console. "Ensign Kim, please assist me with adjusting this scanner array." Seven motioned Harry over to the panel on the side of the console.

"Ensign, thank you for arriving so promptly. I know you're off duty now but I want our scanners modified as soon as possible." The Captain smiled at Harry.

"No problem, Captain. I'm sure that Seven and I can get the scanners boosted to find any evidence of Kazon activity." Harry replied to the Captain and went to work.

"Please let me know as soon as the scanners are up and running." The Captain said as she left Astrometrics.

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Commander Chakotay entered Holodeck 2 and spotted Tom sitting at the bar, quietly talking with Sandrine. _'Maybe now, I can find out what's up with Paris.'_ Chakotay thought as he crossed the room and sat down next to Tom. "Ensign, drinking alone?"

"Well Commander, I was drinking with Ensign Kim until you called him to Astrometrics. The scanners couldn't wait until Alpha shift?"

"No, Paris. The Captain was working with Seven and she wants those new scanner arrays up and running now. She wants to return to where we ran into the Kazon ship and look for any signs of further activity." Chakotay glared at the glass in Tom's hand. "Don't you think you've had enough for one night?"

"I'm off duty, Commander. You can't tell me what or how much to drink. As long as I report for my duty shift on time, my life is my own." Tom snapped at Chakotay.

"Paris, you don't want me to report you for insubordination. I think it's time you retire for the night." Chakotay took the bottle from Tom's hand and set it on the bar.

"No, Commander, the last thing I need is to be brought up on charges of insubordination. Have a good night." Tom responded, his words slightly slurred. He finished off what was still in his glass, turned and drifted unsteadily out of Sandrine's.

__

'I haven't seen Tom drink to excess in quite awhile.' Chakotay thought as he remembered meeting up with the brash young pilot back in France, over six years ago.............

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Captain Chakotay, of the Liberty ship, strode into the dusky bar on the back street of Marseille, France. He'd been told an extremely talented pilot could be found there. The captain, a tall man, with dark hair, and a distinctive tattoo over his left eye, scanned the room. There were several tables filled with Frenchmen and their female companions, several Bolians, and a group of Bajorans surrounding the pool table. 

Chakotay wandered over, at the sound of the crowd loudly encouraging one of the players. He saw a rather large Klingon watching in amazement as a young man with dirty blond hair, hanging in his eyes, appeared to be running the table. The young man, gracefully sank the last of the solid balls, announced that he would sink the 8 ball in the far corner pocket, and proceeded to do just that. The crowd applauded while the Klingon grudgingly handed over five silver credits.

"Sandrine, my love. Here's enough to pay last night's tab and buy a bottle of scotch for tonight." The blond haired man handed over the credits to the bartender. He was given a bottle of house brand scotch and a glass. He sank into a chair at the closest table and poured himself a drink.

Chakotay approached the table and pulled out a chair. "I hate to see a pool shark drink alone."

"I rather prefer my own company." The young man looked up with bloodshot eyes. "What are you looking for?" 

"I understand that you have some large tabs in half the bars in France. I might be able to help you out."

"And what would it cost me." was the reply. "I'm afraid you're not exactly my type."

"I'm not looking for sex but I do have a proposition for you. I hear you're an outstanding pilot."

Surprised blue eyes looked at Chakotay. "Where did you hear that?"

"I have my sources. ........ Well, can you fly an Orion-class ship?" he noted, with a small grin, that he had his companion's full attention.

"I can fly anything you put me in." the voice confident, not at all boastful.

"What do you know about the Maquis?" Chakotay asked as he motioned to the bartender to send over another bottle. "I'll give you the chance to pilot my ship but you'll have to report sober to the transport site."

"You offer me a seat at the helm of your ship and I'll be as sober as a judge." Tom flashed a grin while he put out his hand. "Tom Paris at your service......Captain?"

"Chakotay. Pleased to meet you Tom Paris." Chakotay poured two more glasses of scotch and shook Tom's hand. He noted how thin the pilot was and how anxious he appeared under the bravado he put forth. _'Spirits, he's just a kid! But if he's as good as I've heard, we need him.'_

to be continued.............


	4. Chapter 4

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

Chapter 4

Chakotay's thoughts returned to Sandrine's. _'Tom was as good as we had heard. He was an exceptional pilot, very innovative and we could certainly use him. Then, on his first away mission for the Maquis, he was captured.' _

At the time, the crew on the Liberty thought that Tom had deliberately turned in the shuttle to Starfleet. Only after talking with him, during the first few months on Voyager, did Chakotay learn the truth. Tom had intentionally led the Starfleet ship away from the badlands to keep them from capturing all of the Maquis on their hidden base. He could have easily avoided them with his piloting skills but sacrificed himself and the four other crewmembers to save over 60 Maquis fighters. He also convinced the authorities that he was on a far different course, further delaying the discovery of the base. This gave them the extra time needed to evacuate the base. All Starfleet personnel found were some damaged shuttles and a few field tents.

__

'So why is Paris acting so strangely now? Could it really be tied to his demotion and time in the brig?' Chakotay wondered as he left the Holodeck and went to his quarters. _'Alpha shift will be starting all too soon. I'd better get some rest. It looks like it will be a busy day tomorrow.'_

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After Captain Janeway left Astrometrics, Harry and Seven worked for several hours boosting the sensor array.

"Seven, I'm still reading gravimetric distortions in the logs from 24 hours ago." Harry's quiet voice interrupted the silence of Astrometrics. They were well into the Gamma shift and were the only two crewmembers in the area. 

"If we try remodulating the long range sensor array again, to incorporate the ion trail that you found in the logs, we should be able to ascertain which race the ship belongs to." Seven answered in her usual calm voice. 

"Look, we've been at this for more than two hours. We're both tired. I say let's call it a night and resume searching the logs at 0800." Harry could barely keep his eyes open after staring at the screens and trying to make sense of the readings.

"I do not require rest at this moment, Ensign. If you wish to retire to your quarters, I will remain and review our findings. The Captain wishes to have this report by the morning briefing."

"OK, Seven. One more review." Harry ran the scanner program again and he suddenly felt a rush of adrenaline as he looked at the latest reading. "Seven, what do you make of these readings? Do you have any knowledge of this type of ship in the Delta Quadrant?"

"I believe that the Captain will find these results quite interesting, Ensign Kim."

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Chakotay entered the briefing room to find the rest of the senior staff in their usual seats around the table. He nodded to the Captain as he took his seat.

"Seven and Ensign Kim made some interesting discoveries in Astrometrics last night. Would you care to fill in the rest of us, please?"

"Certainly, Captain." Seven's calm voice answered Captain Janeway. "We were able to boost the scanner arrays as well as the sensor logs for the past 36 hours. There were definite signs of Kazon activity, in the coordinates that Voyager passed through, as well as another ship with a strange ion trail."

"The ion trail is very similar to that of an old Romulan Bird of Prey ." Harry added. 

"Romulan's! What are they doing in the Delta Quadrant?" Tom asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"That's exactly what I intend to find out, Mr. Paris. I want you to enter the exact coordinates into the helm controls and return to that sector." Janeway nodded to Tom as he stood up to go to his post. "Please take your duty stations. B'Elanna, I want you at the engineering station on the bridge. We may need some extra boost to the engines if we encounter any Kazon activity."

"Yes, Captain." B'Elanna stood and entered the bridge along with Harry and Chakotay.

"Seven, I need you down in Astrometrics to work the enhanced scanners."

"That is the most logical location, Captain." Seven turned and headed for the turbolift.

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"How much longer until we reach those coordinates, Mr. Paris?" 

Tom smiled slightly as he realized that the Captain rarely used Ensign when addressing him._ 'Maybe she's as uncomfortable with the rank as I am.' _We are within one light year, Captain." 

"Drop out of warp and go to impulse. I want to approach this area cautiously."

"Yes, Captain." Tom's hands moved over the controls and slowed the ship down.

"Captain to Astrometrics." 

"Seven here, Captain."

"Do the sensors show any similar readings from our last encounter in this sector?"

"No, Captain. Sensors are not picking up any activity."

Without warning a large Kazon ship suddenly appeared on the view screen.

"Red Alert! Mr. Paris, evasive maneuvers." Captain Janeway turned to Tuvok. "Target their weapons array and stand by to fire photon torpedoes, Mr. Tuvok."

"Torpedoes armed and ready to fire at your command." the Vulcan answered in his usual composed manner.

"Captain, we are being hailed." Harry announced.

"Put it on the screen, Ensign." The Captain turned to the forward screen as the face of a Kazon-Ogla come into view. "This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation......" Before she could finish she was cut off by the voice from the other ship.

"I know who you are Captain. Your name is known in this quadrant. I bring you a message from an old friend." he jeered at her.

"An old friend, here?" the Captain motioned to Harry to keep scanning for any other ships.

"Yes, Captain, our Maj, Jaben sends his regards and wishes to let you know that he expects payment for destroying the array and closing the conduits on Ocampa. Our people no longer had any source of water on the planet and many of them died. Jaben does not forget easily."

"How did they find us here, we're at least 30,000 light years from the Ocampan home world?" Tom muttered under his breath.

Before, the Captain could respond to Tom, the ship was rocked as the Kazon ship fired phaser blasts at Voyager.

"Captain, I'm losing helm control." Tom fought with the controls as he tried to maintain an even heading and keep the ship away from the Kazon weapons. The bridge crew were thrown from their stations as the inertial dampers came off-line momentarily.

"Fire, Mr. Tuvok." Janeway instructed her tactical officer as she regained her seat. Tuvok had been able to remain at his station by grasping the side of his console.

"Torpedoes fired, Captain. They have sustained damage. Their weapon system is off-line."

The Kazon ship suddenly went to warp and disappeared from view.

"Stand down red alert." The Captain turned to Harry. "Damage reports, Mr. Kim."

"Damage to weapons systems and our navigational array. Minor injuries reported due to the temporary loss of the inertial dampers.

"B'Elanna, get on the navigational repairs. Mr. Paris, Ensign Kim, you're to assist Lt. Torres."

"Yes, Captain." the two answered simultaneously as they went to join B'Elanna in the turbolift.

"I want weapons back online in one hour."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ship resumed it's heading for the Alpha Quadrant after the repairs were completed. Tom finished up his shift at the helm and headed for his quarters. Just as he neared his cabin, Harry's voice came over his com badge. "Tom, I just finished my shift in Astrometrics. Want to get to that game of pool we didn't play the other day?"

"Sure, Harry. Let me change out of my uniform and meet you in the mess hall."

"OK, Tom. See you in about 15 minutes."

Tom keyed in his entry code and as the doors slid open, he saw that his quarters had been trashed again. His face paled as he realized that someone had gotten past another new lock out code. Furniture was thrown across the room. Broken glass lay on the carpet where a mirror had hung on the wall. His clothes were strewn around the sleeping area and PADDS and papers were scattered on the floor next to his desk. 

He walked over to his monitor and noted the familiar, single word, message on the screen - TRAITOR. Bending down, he began to pick up the broken glass and place it in the recycler. Putting the furniture back where it belonged and picking up his clothes, Tom didn't notice the time. 

The sudden chime at his door surprised him. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Harry. You were supposed to meet me at the mess hall half an hour ago."

"Oh.......Sorry, Harry. I ........uh... kind of got caught up with some paper work. I'll just meet you at Sandrine's....... OK?"

"No, Tom. You've been hiding away too much lately. Let me in."

"Harry, please just leave. I'll catch up with you later." Tom's voice sounded a little despondent. 

__

'I've got to get through to Tom. Something's bothering him.' "Tom, I'm not leaving until you let me in." Harry stood with his arms folded across his chest and leaned against the wall.

Tom opened the door to his quarters and backed away so Harry could enter.

"Tom, what the hell happened in here?" Harry's eyes widened as he took in the papers and PADDS scattered around the room. "Where's the mirror that was on that wall?"

"I.....I just tend to get a little sloppy when we're busy, Harry. The mirror kind of ....got knocked off the wall." Tom avoided Harry's eyes as he continued to pick up the papers and place them on his desk.

Harry walked over to help Tom pick up his possessions. Tom suddenly stiffened as he picked up a book that had been torn in half with several pages ripped out. He sat back on his heels and cradled the book in his hands. Harry read the title, as he stooped down next to Tom, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was the book that Captain Janeway had given Tom before the incident with the Moneans. It was one of the Captain's original books. Tom and the Captain both tended to enjoy reading novels in the printed form and the Captain had given Tom the book after they first spotted the ocean planet.

"Tom, who did this? Have you reported it to the Captain."

"Harry, it's nothing. It's not like this is the first time this has happened." Tom answered regretfully as he place the ruined book on his desk. "Come on, let's get some dinner and play that pool game." Tom stood and put his arm around Harry's shoulder and headed for the door, his face became a studied mask of indifference.

"Tom! This has happened before? You have to report this!" Harry pulled away from Tom.

"Harry, what good would it do reporting it. I have no idea who did it. Besides it doesn't matter. I'll just clean it up later. I'm hungry so let's get dinner." Tom signaled the door to open, glanced back at the book on his desk and walked out into the corridor.

to be continued.....................

1902 words


	5. Chapter 5

HTML1DocumentEncodingwindows-1252GeneratorMicrosoft Works 4.0**Consequences**

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

Author's note: I have resubmitted this chapter because I just realized I had spelled B'Elanna's name with only one n. (Sorry to B'Elanna and Roxann Dawson)

Chapter 5

Harry entered the mess hall, hungry for breakfast. He picked up some fruit, some strange purple concoction that resembled scrambled eggs, and coffee. Looking around, he spotted B'Elanna at a small table by the viewport.

"Hey, Starfleet, why the glum face?" B'Elanna smiled up at Harry as he placed his tray on the table and sat down across from her.

"I'm worried about Tom. There's something bothering him but he won't talk about it." _'I should tell her about his quarters being trashed but that will only get him even more upset.'_ Harry thought.

"Yeah, he does seem rather distant lately." B'Elanna replied. "We were supposed to have dinner together last week but he canceled at the last minute, said something about Chakotay giving him extra diagnostics to run."

"He seems to be avoiding people and he's very distracted. We played pool last night and I beat him three games." Harry grimaced as he put a forkful of breakfast in his mouth. "What exactly is this supposed to be?"

B'Elanna smiled as she pointed to her tray. "I'm not sure but I'm sticking to the basics, coffee, fruit, and toast. You're right about Tom, he has been scarce the past few weeks and unusually quiet." She thought back to the first time she ran into Tom, on the Liberty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"BaQa' !!!! Ghuy'!!!! QI'yaH !!!!!!! What the hell kind of flying was that?!!!" B'Elanna burst onto the bridge of the Liberty.

Chakotay turned in his seat and flashed her a huge grin. "Just some creative maneuvers from our new pilot."

B'Elanna looked down into the bluest eyes she had ever seen as the blonde haired man, at the conn, spun his chair around. He put his hand out in greeting. "Tom Paris." he smirked. "Not impressed with my piloting?"

"Not when it puts that much strain on my engines." she glowered at him, ignoring the outstretched hand.

"There's other ways to impress a beautiful lady." Tom replied with a smug look on his face.

"PetaQ!!" B'Elanna spit out as she turned on her heel. "Chakotay, if he screws up my engines again, I'll personally jettison him out the nearest airlock." she called out over her shoulder as she left the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

B'Elanna's thoughts returned to the mess hall again. _'Even then, Tom was quite good looking, if you could get past his huge ego.'_ B'Elanna had forgotten the pilot after he was caught on his first mission for the Maquis. Then he had appeared in the tunnel on Ocampa. They had slowly become friends and B'Elanna felt that their relationship was moving to another level. She wasn't sure what she wanted from Tom but if he was in trouble, she cared enough to be worried.

"Senior staff to the ready room." The Captain's voice came over the comm system. B'Elanna and Harry left the mess hall and headed for the turbolift.

to be continued.............. 


	6. Chapter 6

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

Chapter 6

As Harry and B'Elanna walked into the Captain's ready room, they saw Chakotay, Tuvok, Tom, and Seven already seated. Captain Janeway stood at the head of the table looking out of the viewport at the starscape. She turned around slowly to face her senior officers.

"Seven has informed me that there is no further evidence of the Kazon ship or signs of any other ship. All repairs have been made and I feel that our best course would be to resume our heading to the Alpha Quadrant."

"But Captain." Tom replied. "We're not going to try to find the ships?"

"No Tom, I don't want to invite trouble. If they have left the area we are not going to pursue them. Harry and Seven, I want you to scan for any planets with Deuterium or Dilithium. B'Elanna has informed me that we're running low on both and I want to fill our stores before we leave this system."

"Yes, Captain." Harry and Seven answered together. "Should we go to Astrometics now?" Harry questioned.

"No, Mr. Kim. I want you on the bridge as we leave this area. Please scan for any subspace anomalies that could indicate a cloaked ship."

"Yes, Captain. I'll get right on it." Harry stood and headed for the bridge.

"Seven, I want you to start the scans in Astrometrics." The Captain then turned to B'Elanna.

"B'Elanna, I want you to be sure the engines can handle any demands for warp speed that we might have to call for."

"They'll be ready for anything, Captain." B'Elanna gave the Captain a confident look as she turned to leave the ready room. Tom gave her a small smile and looked to the Captain for his orders.

"Tom, set a new course for the Alpha Quadrant and be ready to engage in 20 minutes."

"I'll be ready for your order, Captain." Tom gave her a little grin as he headed for the helm.

"Captain, do you feel that we are out of danger?" Tuvok gave her a puzzled look.

"No, I don't think that we've seen the last of the Kazons but I won't be held prisoner by their actions. We need to resume our course for home. We are running low on energy sources but I don't want to spend too much time securing supplies. Please continue to scan for any signs of trouble, Mr. Tuvok." She smiled tentatively at her security officer.

Tuvok rose and made his way to his station and Chakotay turned in his seat to look at Janeway. "Why leave now, Captain? You were intent on finding the Kazons."

"I know Chakotay, but I have an uneasy feeling about remaining in this area. I want to get supplies and get on our way." She walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Shall we join the crew on the bridge?"

He flashed her one of his grins as he stood up from his seat and they strolled out of the ready room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom sat fidgeting at the helm, checking the course settings. He felt uneasy in this sector of space and was anxious to get underway.

Janeway took her seat and glanced at the bridge crew. They were all at their stations prepared for whatever lay ahead. 

"Captain, the course is laid in for the Alpha Quadrant." Tom looked back at Janeway's seat. He could sense her apprehension and gave her a small nod. "Ready when you are."

"OK, Mr. Paris. Engage."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All was quiet on Voyager as they headed for the Alpha Quadrant. On the third day, Harry spotted something on his scanners. "Captain, I believe I've found a planet with a good supply of Deuterium and Dilithium."

"How far is this planet Mr. Kim?" The Captain, looked pleased as Harry read over the scanner results.

"About four light years from here, Captain. It looks like an M class planet with a breathable atmosphere."

"Good job, Harry. Send the coordinates to the helm. Mr. Paris lay in a course for the planet. When we are in range I want an away team to take a shuttle down to the surface."

"Captain, if there is a good supply of minerals, wouldn't it be better to take the Delta Flyer?" Tom asked. "It would hold more cargo and a larger away team."

"You're right, Mr. Paris. Commander assemble an away team with six crewmembers and meet in the shuttle bay in one hour. Mr. Paris, you're to pilot the Delta Flyer."

"Yes, Captain." Tom flashed her a big grin. "We should be in range within twenty minutes."

As they came within range, Tom's back up took over at the helm as he, Chakotay, and Harry left the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Commander Chakotay assembled the away team in the shuttle bay. Tom Paris would pilot the Delta Flyer with Harry Kim at the ops station. Mike Ayala, Ken Dalby, and Sue Nicoletti would be gathering information on the minerals and mining any they found. Chakotay rounded out the away team and would be in charge of this mission.

After completing the pre flight check, Tom swiftly brought the flyer out of the shuttle bay and down to the planet's surface. The atmosphere was indeed suitable for exploration in regular uniforms.

"Paris, Dalby, and Nicoletti investigate those caves over there." Chakotay gestured down to the left of the flyer. "Readings were high for Dilithium Crystals. "Kim, Ayala, and I will head up to that ridge." he pointed up to the right.

The two teams moved out and found ample supplies of the minerals needed for the engines. After several hours, Chakotay's team returned to the flyer with their stores. There was no sign of the other away team. "Chakotay to Paris. Have you procured the Dilithium Crystals?"

"Yes, Commander, but we're having a bit of a problem here." Paris's voice came through Chakotay's comm badge. Chakotay could here loud voices in the background.

"I'll be right there. Chakotay out." Chakotay turned to the others on his team. "Stow the Deuterium in the cargo bay and join me at the caves." He headed down toward the cave entrances. As he neared the closest cave he heard angry voices.

"I don't care that they let you out of your cage you still aren't fit to order me around." Dalby sneered at Tom and blocked his exit from the cave. Tom tried to push his way past and Dalby suddenly shoved his fist into Tom's midsection. Catching his breath as he doubled over in pain, Tom tried to stand and swung at Dalby's head. He managed to connect just under Dalby's left eye which earned him a punch to his mouth. He tasted blood as he curled his fists and advanced towards Dalby.

"Paris, Dalby! What is the meaning of this?" Chakotay's voice rang out stopping the two officers in mid swing. He grabbed each man by their shirt fronts and shoved them against the side of the cave entrance. "There will be no fighting on this mission, especially among officers." The two glared at each other and at Chakotay. "We'll deal with this later."

Harry and Mike Ayala arrived at the cave and took in the scene before them. Tom and Ken were both bleeding and breathing hard. Chakotay was scowling at the two men. "Get these crystals aboard the flyer and let's get out of here."

The six crew members loaded the Dilithium Crystals into the flyer and Chakotay approached the hatch where Paris and Dalby stood quietly apart from each other. "I should send you both to the brig to cool off." he snarled_. _He saw Tom's face blanch and his hands tremble with apprehension_. _"You're both confined to quarters, except for duty shifts and meals, for the next 48 hours, as soon as we return to the ship."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom lifted off the planet's surface and headed for Voyager. Sue approached the Commander. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?"

"Of course, Lieutenant. What is it?" Chakotay looked at the young engineer.

"Dalby kept pushing Ensign Paris, Sir. He wouldn't extract the crystals the way Tom told him to and he was covering up more than he found. Tom tried to talk to him but Dalby wouldn't listen. He kept saying he didn't have to listen to a traitor and a murderer."

"Regardless of Dalby's behavior, Ensign Paris is the more experienced officer and should be able to control his temper." _'Paris's temper has gotten him into trouble again.' _Chakotay thought as he remembered the brash young pilot back on the Liberty.............

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You son of a bitch! Watch where you're going!" Ken Dalby's voice rang out in the small mess hall on the Maquis ship, Liberty. Tom Paris had stumbled into Dalby's chair and knocked the coffee cup out of his hand.

"If you'd ... move your damn feet .......a person could get past......... you." Tom's words were slurred as he struggled to maintain his balance.

Chakotay heard the exchange as he entered the mess hall. He saw Paris shudder as Dalby shoved his chair back and took a swing at Paris's head. Dalby connected with Tom's jaw with a loud crack and Tom retaliated with a blow to Dalby's right ear. The strong swing caused Tom to lose his balance and he sprawled against the table.

"Enough!" roared Chakotay. He shoved Dalby back into another chair and hauled Tom to his feet. The smell of alcohol was strong on Tom's breath. "Paris, I warned you about drinking. Ayala take Mr. Paris to the brig. He'll be spending the next 24 hours there." The brig on the Liberty was an old supply closet with two bunks installed and barely enough room in front of them to stand. The small doorway contained a force field and the lights outside were dim. There were no lights at all in the cell. 

Mike Ayala grabbed Tom by the arm and marched him out of the mess hall. Chakotay turned to Dalby. "You report to your quarters and get cleaned up." Chakotay then returned to the bridge.

Four hours later, Chakotay was hailed by Ayala. "Captain, you'd better get down here. Paris keeps hurling himself at the force field. I've even threatened him with a phaser but he won't stop.

"I'm on my way." Chakotay rose form his seat and headed for the brig. _'I should have known that Paris would be more trouble than he's worth.'_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he got in front of the small cell, that served as the Liberty's brig, Chakotay could hear Paris yelling to be let out. "Deactivate the force field." he instructed Ayala. He stood in front of the small, dim cell. "Paris, you are to remain in that cell for 24 hours and we don't need any dramatics. Now sleep off the drunk." He stepped back to the console. "Reactivate the force field and kill the lights." he told Ayala.

"No......" Tom's anguished voice came through the small opening to the cell.

Chakotay turned to Ayala and dismissed him. "I'll take over now, go get some sleep."

Ayala went down the corridor and Chakotay deactivated the force field, set the lights to full and entered the cell. Tom was sitting on the end of the bottom cot, his knees brought up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. His face was deadly pale with sweat gleaming on his forehead. His breathing was rapid and shallow and his eyes were squeezed shut. As Chakotay neared the young man he heard him mumbling.

"Too...... close.......too close." Tom's voice barely above a whisper.

"Paris." Chakotay placed a hand on Tom's shoulder. His eyes flew open and he flinched at the touch.

"You're claustrophobic aren't you?" Chakotay asked gently. He'd never seen such a severe reaction.

"Yeah, k...kind of." Tom's quiet voice responded as his breathing slowly returned to normal. He looked up with embarrassment into Chakotay's eyes.

"Then I'll confine you to your quarters. Can you be trusted to go there or do I need to call security?"

"No need to c..call anyone.......I'll go. Th.....thank you, Captain." Tom stood unsteadily and made his way out of the cell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Commander, we're in visual range." Tom's voice brought Chakotay back to the present.

"Very well, Paris. Bring us home."

They returned to the shuttle bay and Chakotay assigned crewmembers to unload the minerals and transfer them to engineering. He ordered Paris and Dalby to their quarters and went to report to the Captain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chakotay headed into the turbolift. "Deck 9" he ordered the computer. He had met with the Captain, turned in his report, and proposed that he meet with Paris and try to determine what was troubling the pilot.

He stood outside Tom's quarters and activated the comm but there was no answer. "Computer locate Tom Paris." 

"Tom Paris is in his quarters." the monotone of the computer replied. Chakotay tried the comm again.

"Come in." Tom's quiet voice answered. Chakotay entered the darkened room and spotted Tom sprawled on his couch.

"Commander, I didn't realize it was you." He stood up at attention unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn. "Computer, lights." The room brightened and Chakotay smiled at Tom.

"Sit, please. Tom, we need to talk. Something's been bothering you for several weeks now and this fight with Dalby is just the tip of the problem." Chakotay walked towards the couch.

"Look, Commander, there's nothing going on that I can't handle. I admit I got a little out of control with Dalby but it won't happen again." Tom looked slightly embarrassed but his tone was one of defiance.

"Look, Paris, obviously you can't handle it alone. You've been late for your bridge shifts, drinking too much when you do show up on the Holodeck and uncharacteristically quiet. Even The Captain is concerned with your behavior."

Before Tom can answer, the ship is suddenly rocked with an explosion and the room pitches steeply. Chakotay is thrown off balance and lands on the floor. Tom jumps off the couch and reaches out a hand to help Chakotay to his feet.

"Red Alert! All crew to their stations, senior officers to the bridge. Red Alert!" The Captain's voice comes over the speakers and the two men rush through the doorway and head for the turbolift.

to be continued...............


	7. Chapter 7

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

Chapter 7

Chakotay and Tom rushed onto the bridge as the ship shuddered from another blast. 

"Mr. Paris, take the conn. Evasive maneuvers." The Captain shouted as she clung to the armrests of her command chair.

Tom lurched across the bridge as the floor suddenly dropped out from under him. He replaced the pilot at his station and tilted Voyager down, intending to fly under the enemy ship.

"Captain, we've lost aft shields." Harry's voice, calm in the chaos.

Then, as abruptly as it had appeared, the other ship vanished

'Where the hell did they go?" Chakotay asked the question on everyone's mind.

"I don't understand their tactics." Tuvok stated quietly with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"It's like a cat and mouse game." Harry replied.

"More like bump and run." Tom turned towards the Captain.

"Explain please , Mr. Paris."

"In the twentieth century, the driver in a car would bump another car, usually on a deserted road, until the other car pulled off to the side of the road. Then the driver and any accomplices would rob the people in the first car."

"Well, they certainly have our attention but now what?" Chakotay asked. "What are they after?"

"Captain, we're being hailed." Harry gestured to the screen as the ship reappeared.

"On screen."  
  
"Captain Janeway, so we meet again." the familiar face of the Kazon-Ogla captain appeared on the view screen.

"And to what do we owe the pleasure of running into you again, Captain..?" Janeway assumed command mode with her hands on her hips and pulled herself up to her full height.

"Ah,... Maj Goral, Captain. I bring you greeting from Maj Jabin. He still has a great interest in your ship and crew."

Janeway signaled Harry to cut the sound.

"Mr. Tuvok, can we get a lock on their captain?"

"No, Captain. We can't penetrate their shields."

Janeway motioned for Harry to restore the sound.

"And what is the message from Jabin?"  
  
"Very simple, Captain. Payment **will** be made for destroying the Array." The Kazon captain cut the communication and their ship turned away from Voyager.

"Captain, they're powering weapons." Tuvok noted from his console. 

"Shields to maximum. Mr. Paris, get us out of here." Janeway returned to her seat.

Several blasts rocked the bridge and Harry's console exploded in a shower of sparks.

"Captain, our weapons are off-line." Tuvok's voice could be heard above the blaring alarms as smoke rose from the ops and engineering stations. "Their ship has gone to warp."

"They're gone, Captain." Chakotay scanned his console.

Tom glanced back at Harry who was slumped against the bulkhead, his face etched in pain. "Captain, permission to take Harry to sickbay?"

"Of course, Mr. Paris." Tom let his relief take the conn as he moved to Harry's side. Janeway turned to Chakotay. "Commander, damage reports."

"Weapons are off-line, aft shields are out, transporters are down, and it appears that we've lost several gel packs in the Shield Harmonics array." Chakotay recounted the reports coming in from all sectors.

"I want repair crews at each sector now, Commander. Get the Gamma shift on early, we're in for a long haul. I'll be in my ready room, you have the bridge." Janeway rose from her command seat, glanced at the bridge crew, and headed for her ready room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom grabbed an emergency medkit from the under the tactical console and helped Harry into the turbolift. "Sickbay. You're going to be OK Har. It's just some first and second degree burns. A few passes with the dermal regenerator and you'll be as good as new." As he spoke, he set a hypospray for the correct dosage of painkiller and pressed it to his friend's neck. As the medicine took hold, Harry's face relaxed. 

"Tom, what the hell happened down on the planet with Dalby? What was he talking about, calling you a traitor and murderer?" Harry looked at Tom who pulled away from him and looked off at the ceiling.

"Oh, you know how crazy Dalby can be. It's nothing, Har. Don't worry about it. Let's just get you to sickbay." Tom began speaking faster as he tried to pass off the fight as being insignificant. "You know Har, Dalby likes to run off at the mouth and usually what he says doesn't make any sense at all."

"But Tom, you guys were fighting. I saw Chakotay pull you apart. He was ready to throw you both in the brig." Harry was truly worried about his friend. "Was Dalby involved in trashing your quarters?"

"Look Harry, I told you to forget it. OK? I can handle this myself I don't need your help." Tom turned towards the doors as they slid open and walked off to sickbay, knowing Harry would be right behind him. They entered sickbay and Tom helped Harry onto a biobed.

"Mr. Paris, there are more injured arriving. When you finish with Ensign Kim, please start triage." The Doctor moved to a cabinet with hyposprays and dermal regenerators and began preparing for the injured crew members.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sick bay slowly emptied out as injuries were healed. Harry had been released to his quarters to rest with the promise from Tom to meet him in the mess hall for dinner.

"Ensign Paris." The Captain's voice came over Tom's comm badge.

"Paris here, Captain." Tom responded wearily.

"You are needed in Jefferies Tube 63 to assist with repairs to the gel packs in the Shield Harmonics section."

"Yes, Captain, on my way. Paris out." Tom nodded to the Doctor who had overheard the orders from the Captain. "Got to go, Doc. See you in the morning for my shift." As he headed for the turbolift, he yawned slightly. _'As if this day wasn't already long enough. Now I'll be stuck in a damn Jefferies tube for several hours with some crewmember from engineering._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Tom approached the Jeffries tube, he noticed B'Elanna waiting with a repair kit and two hyperspanners.

"Hey." Tom said as he gave her a small smile. "I get to work with the Chief Engineer herself? How did I rate this honor?"

B'Elanna returned his smile with one of her own. "I requested your assistance from the Captain." _'Someone's got to get to the bottom of what's troubling Tom. Harry said he refused to talk about it on the way to sick bay. I promised him I'd try to get through Paris's thick skull that we actually care about what happens to him.'_

Tom gave her a quizzical look as he opened the hatch to the Jeffries tube and lifted the gear in. "After you, my dear." he flashed her one of his memorable grins as he gestured to the hatch.

They climbed into the tube and headed for the section of burned out gel packs. When they reached the site, they both sat down and unpacked the repair kit and replacement packs. The silence, while they worked together, was overpowering.

As they finished replacing the final gel pack, B'Elanna spoke up. "Tom, what's going on with you lately? I'm worried about you."

Tom looked away trying to hide the anger in his face. "Look, I'm fine. I really wish people would mind their own business and leave me alone." He attempted to sound upset at her intrusion but the exhaustion of the past few weeks betrayed him.

B'Elanna reached her hand out to Tom's chin and turned his face towards her. "Tom, I care about you and you're not fine. Anyone can see that. Harry and I have even thought of going to The Captain to ask if there was something going on that she knew about. You're not planning on leaving the ship again, are you?"

Tom leaned into her touch and closed his eyes. He didn't want to burden anyone with his problems, least of all B'Elanna. They were just getting close and he didn't want to lose that. He opened his eyes and looked into her concerned face. "Really, it was just a misunderstanding between Dalby and me. It's not worth worrying about. Let's get cleaned up and get some dinner."

B'Elanna realized that he was shutting her out again and hiding behind his mask of indifference. "Sure, Tom. I'll pack these kits up and we'll meet Harry in the mess hall. We have some more gel packs to check in the next section but they can wait until after dinner."

"Sounds great. I'm really getting hungry. I can get some dinner but then I have to go back to my quarters." Tom looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"I know about the fight, Tom. Harry told me that you're confined to your quarters except for work and meals. That's one of the reasons I asked the Captain to send you down here for repairs. I thought you'd appreciate some extra time outside your cabin." she gave him a grin as she moved towards the hatch. "See you in about 20 minutes, Ensign."

Tom smiled back at her. "OK, see you in 20."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

B'Elanna entered the mess hall and spotted Harry at a corner table. He waved to her and she picked up a dinner tray, grabbed a cup of coffee and joined him.

"Hey, Starfleet. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine now. Tom did a good job of healing my burns. I even got to rest for 3 hours off duty. Now, if only Neelix could come up with a meal without all of the Talaxian spices, I'd be able to enjoy a simple dinner. Where's Tom, I thought you two were working together?"

"We were. He said he needed to clean up and change and that he'd meet me here. That was over 30 minutes ago. You were right, Harry. He wouldn't talk about the fight or what's been troubling him for the past few weeks. He got angry when I questioned him about Dalby and said it was just a misunderstanding."

Harry looked up at the main entrance to the mess hall while B'Elanna was talking. Commander Chakotay had joined the food line and was now heading for their table.

"B'Elanna, Harry, mind if I join you?'

"Sure, Chakotay. We're waiting for Tom but there's plenty of room." B'Elanna smiled at her old friend.

"Speaking of Ensign Paris, I've been meaning to talk with both of you. Do either one of you know what's the problem with him lately? He's been late for duty shifts, the fight with Dalby, and I've seen him drinking more recently."

Harry looked relieved that Chakotay had brought up Tom's troubles. _'I wonder if I should tell them about Tom's quarters being trashed. Tom would probably kill me if I did. Maybe Chakotay can find out what's bothering him.' _"Commander, we were thinking of asking you if you knew what might be bothering Tom. He certainly has been keeping to himself and won't discuss it with either of us." 

"In fact, he's already over 45 minutes late for dinner and when we finished replacing the damaged gel packs he commented about how hungry he was." B'Elanna added.

"Any reason he might have changed his mind about coming down here?" Chakotay asked.

"I doubt it, Chakotay. We'd worked pretty steady for over two hours and he had come straight from sick bay. I'll comm him and see what excuse he has for being late." she tapped her comm badge. "Torres to Paris. Come in, Tom. You're missing a wonderful dinner." she grinned at Harry as he made a face while trying to swallow a forkful of the wonderful dinner.

There was no answer to her hail.

Chakotay gave B'Elanna an uneasy look. "Computer, location of Ensign Paris."

"Ensign Paris is in Jefferies Tube 63." the monotone voice of the computer replied.

"I told him there were some more gel packs that needed checking but that they could wait until after dinner." B'Elanna declared.

Harry looked at his companions apprehensively. "I know how Tom doesn't like spending time in his quarters. Maybe he figured that if he checked the other gel packs now, it would give him more time away from them."

"That's probably true but I want to speak with him tonight and see if I can get this resolved. If he doesn't show up by the time we've finished, I'll go to his quarters." Chakotay stated as he took a forkful of Neelix's newest concoction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chakotay left the mess hall and headed for the turbolift. Tom had not shown up and had not answered another hail. When Chakotay questioned the computer, it told him that Tom was in a turbolift heading for deck 6. _'He must be heading for his quarters now. Well, like it or not, Mr. Paris and I will have a talk tonight.'_ Chakotay thought as he entered the turbolift. "Deck 6, section 10."

As the doors opened, Chakotay could see Tom ahead of him in the corridor. He appeared to stagger down the hall. _'Drowning his problems in Scotch again.'_ he thought angrily as he sought to catch up to the taller man. "Paris! Wait up. We need to talk."

Tom stiffened slightly when he heard Chakotay's voice but continued in his faltering walk down the corridor bumping into the wall twice before he reached the door to his quarters. He keyed in his entrance code and the door slid open as Chakotay reached him.

"Listen, Paris. We are going to have a little talk, now."

"Just l....leave m..me alone." Tom's words were slurred as he passed through his doorway intent on getting away from the Commander.

Chakotay reached out his hand and grabbed Tom's right arm.

to be continued.............


	8. Chapter 8

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

Author's note - Major angst for Tom this chapter.

Chapter 8

Tom cried out in pain as Chakotay's hand tightened around his right arm. Chakotay dropped his hand as the two men entered Tom's quarters. "Computer, lights on full." Chakotay ordered and looked at Tom.

"Spirits! Tom, who did this to you?" he gasped.

Tom stood slumped against the wall clutching his right arm to his body. The left side of his face was swollen, a bruise blackening his cheek. His eye was closed tightly and blood trickled out of his mouth. "I can take c...care of it Chakotay. Just l..leave me be." Tom rasped out, barely above a whisper. His breathing was ragged and his hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat.

"Enough, Paris!!" Chakotay ground out. "Who did this?"

"Can't tell you, ......Commander." Tom drew in a sharp breath as a look of pain crossed his features.

"Look, Paris, that's an order. Who did this to you?"

Tom raised one blue eye, glazed with pain and embarrassment to Chakotay. "I d..don't know Commander. It was t..too dark. I c..couldn't see."

"You're going to sickbay with me now." Chakotay shook his head at the younger man. 

"I d..don't think so, Commander." Tom's knees gave out and his head fell back against the wall. Chakotay held him and lowered him to the floor. He reached up and tapped his comm badge. "Chakotay to transporter room. Lock onto my comm badge. Emergency beam out, two to sickbay."

"Yes, Commander. Stand by for transport." The young ensign responded.

The two men disappeared in a swirling blue haze.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The EMH came on line as the blue haze materialized into the two officers. Chakotay was kneeling, with Tom, slumped unconscious against him.

"What happened, Commander?" The doctor asked as he bent to help Chakotay lift Tom onto the nearest biobed. The doctor began to scan Tom immediately.

"It appears that Ensign Paris has been in one hell of a fight." Chakotay answered as he moved towards the office. He tapped his comm badge. "Chakotay to Captain Janeway. Please report to sickbay."

"Janeway here, Chakotay. What's going on?" The Captain's voice answered instantly. 

"I just beamed Tom Paris here, Captain. He's been injured, apparently in another fight."

"I'll be right there. I'm going to request Lieutenant Tuvok join us as well." the Captain said.

"Sickbay to Ensign Wildman." the doctor commed Samantha Wildman.

"Ensign Wildman here, Doctor." Sam's voice came over the speakers in sickbay.

"I need your assistance for emergency surgery, Ensign. Please report to sickbay immediately."

When Sam entered sickbay, the doctor had her stock a surgical tray with the instruments and hyposprays he would need. "We'll need an Exoscalpel, two hyposprays of cortical analeptic, at least three of Hydrocortilene, an osteoregenerator, and a dermal regenerator. When you've finished, please prep Ensign Paris for surgery." he indicated the Ensign in the far corner of sickbay. Chakotay had helped him move Tom to the surgical bay.

The Captain and Lieutenant Tuvok entered and went immediately to the surgical bay.

"My God! Who did this?" The Captain asked, in a stunned voice, as she looked at her conn officer. She reached out a hand and touched Tom's left arm gently as her expression softened.

"He claims he couldn't see because it was too dark. He's too good a fighter, I want to see the other fellow." Chakotay answered in disbelief.

"Captain, gentlemen, may I speak with you in my office?" the doctor motioned across the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they entered the office, the Captain and the doctor took seats while Chakotay and Tuvok stood in the doorway.

"Doctor, what are Tom's injuries and will he recover?" The Captain asked.

The doctor raised one eyebrow slightly at the Captain's use of Ensign Paris's first name. _'She cares more about Mr. Paris then she lets on.' _ he thought as he glanced out the window at his most frequent patient.

"Captain, Mr. Paris has multiple injuries but I don't believe any are life threatening. The most serious is a left temporal skull fracture with subdural bleeding beneath it. He also has various bruises on his rib cage, two teeth are loose, and his left cheek bone has been shattered."

Chakotay interrupted the doctor. "Are there bruises on his hands? He must have given as good as he got. Paris is a schooled street fighter."

"No, Commander, there's no injuries to his hands. I don't believe Mr. Paris was able to inflict any damage. There are abrasions and bruises on both wrists which suggest that someone held his arms behind him while others administered the blows. His right arm is also fractured in three places. He might have pulled it free momentarily and tried to protect himself but was clearly overpowered. The compound fractures and amount of bleeding in his brain indicate that he was hit with more than just fists."

The Captain's face paled as the doctor listed Tom's injuries and turned hard as she heard that he was attacked and beaten. Janeway cared about all of her crew but maintained a soft spot for the young man she had placed at conn. "We have to find those responsible." she said, rising from her chair.

"There's more Captain." the doctor said quietly as he gently placed his hand on her arm, motioning her to sit down.

"More? What more could there be?" she whispered.

"This is not the first attack on Mr. Paris. The scans show a recent history of multiple injuries."

"What do you mean, doctor." Chakotay asked.

"Six cracked ribs, the fingers on his right hand have been broken, bruised kidneys, and numerous contusions to his face and body. Apparently Mr. Paris has 'acquired' some hypos and regenerators from our supply and has been treating himself in his quarters." the doctor answered while checking his console. "There's also 100 cc's of Hydrocortilene, a powerful pain reliever, missing."

"Why didn't he come to someone about this?" The Captain asked.

"Ensign Paris is a very private and independent young man and I imagine he felt that he could handle the situation on his own." Tuvok stated.

"That's what he told me when I tried to question him about the fight with Dalby." Chakotay confirmed.

"How long has this been going on?" the Captain asked in a shaky voice.

"The scans indicate that his injuries go back about five or six weeks, Captain."  


"Just when his behavior began to change." Chakotay noted.

"Doctor!" Sam's voice summoned them from the office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they approached the surgical bay, they could see Sam trying to calm Tom down, as he attempted to get off the biobed.

"G..got to get back to m..my quarters." He stammered as he doubled over in pain.

"No, Tom. You've been hurt. You're in sickbay and you're going to be OK." Sam tried to soothe the pilot.

"Ensign, get me 20cc's of Improvaline." the doctor ordered as he and Chakotay lowered Tom back onto the bio bed. He placed the hypospray against his patient's neck and as the medication took effect, Tom stropped struggling and closed his right eye.

"I want a security officer stationed here in sickbay." The Captain turned to Tuvok.

"And, I want Ken Dalby brought in for questioning." Chakotay added.

"He will be in my office." Tuvok answered as he left sickbay.

"Mr. Paris, do you have any idea who did this to you?" The Captain asked gently as Tom slowly opened right his eye and looked up at her.

"No, Ma'am. I couldn't see." his voiced tinged with pain and exhaustion.

"Captain, I'd like to get the bleeding under control." the doctor said quietly as he approached the Captain and Chakotay.

"Of course, Doctor. Contact me when you are finished." The Captain said.

Janeway gently brushed a lock of hair off of Tom's forehead. "We'll find out who did this, Mr. Paris. You just rest now while the doctor works on your injuries."

"We need to sedate you now, Mr. Paris. You've suffered a severe concussion and I have to relieve the bleeding." The doctor said as he placed a hypospray, of Melorazine, against Tom's neck.

"OK ....Doc, ....see you later." Tom replied groggily as the sedative took effect. 

The Captain and Chakotay headed for the corridor.

"Hand me the Exoscalpel and prepare 25 cc's of cortical analeptic. I believe there'll be damaged areas in his brain to be regenerated." The doctor's voice was heard as the doors to sickbay slid closed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Captain and Chakotay entered Tuvok's office to find Ken Dalby sitting sullenly in a chair next to the desk.

"Captain, Mr. Dalby insists that he has not left his cabin this evening and computer scans indicate he did not leave his quarters." Tuvok reported to Janeway.

"Mr. Dalby, I want to know what precipitated the fight with Lt. Paris on the planet's surface this afternoon?" Chakotay questioned as he folded his arms across his chest and glowered at Dalby.

"That was between Paris and myself, Commander. It's an old feud and we just let it get out of hand." Dalby retorted with a smirk on his face.

"Lt. Tuvok, I want this man returned to his quarters with a security detail on guard. He is to remain there until he decides to be more cooperative." The Captain ordered. "We'll be in my ready room." Janeway and Chakotay exited Tuvok's office and headed down the corridor. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Janeway and Chakotay entered her ready room and sat on her couch. Janeway put her head in her hands and slumped forward with her elbows on her knees. "Chakotay, who could be so cold-blooded? Tom could have died if you hadn't found him. And why didn't he come to one of us about these attacks?"

"Tuvok is right, Kathryn. Paris is a very private individual. He likes to fight his battles on his own. As soon as the doctor says he's up to it, I'll question him. This time I won't let him brush this off."

"Sickbay to Captain Janeway." the doctor's voice interrupted them.

"Yes, Doctor. Go ahead. Is Mr. Paris OK?" the Captain asked.

"He came through the surgery as expected, Captain. I don't believe there will be any lasting damage from his injuries. I would like to keep him sedated through the night, though. After all, his body did meet with quite a bit of trauma." the doctor replied.

"Thank you, Doctor. Please inform me in the morning when he is up to questioning. 

"Captain, may I assume that the security detail will remain here through the night?" the doctor asked.

"Yes, Doctor there will be a security officer in sickbay at all times. Janeway out."

"Kathryn, if there is nothing further, I think we should call it a night. Alpha shift starts too soon for me." Chakotay stated as he tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

The Captain smiled, warmly at him as she stood up from her seat. "Certainly, Chakotay. I'll see you at breakfast?" she questioned.

"Yes, Kathryn." He rose and headed for the door. "Good night."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Harry strolled down the corridor to Tom's quarters. _'I'm not sure what the hell went on yesterday but I know Tom is always hungry in the morning and maybe he'll be willing to talk at breakfast.'_

Harry rang the bell for entrance to Tom's quarters but there was no reply. "Computer, location of Tom Paris."

"Lt. Tom Paris is in sickbay." the monotone voice replied.

"What! Sickbay? Why?" Harry sputtered.

"Please rephrase your request." the computer stated.

"Never mind." Harry muttered as he headed for the turbolift. "Sickbay." he commanded the computer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chime rang at Captain Janeway's ready room door. "Enter." Janeway's voice was heard.

Harry entered the room and noticed Commander Chakotay and Lt. Tuvok seated at the small table with the Captain. Breakfast dishes were scattered on the table top. 

"Captain, what's happened to Tom Paris? I went to meet him for breakfast. When there was no answer to my hail, I asked the computer for his whereabouts. He's in sickbay, and when I went there, Lt. Ayala wouldn't let me in."

"Ensign Kim, did you see Ensign Paris last night?" Tuvok questioned.

"No, he didn't show up for dinner. Commander, you know that. You sat with B'Elanna and me last night." Harry looked at Chakotay with a pained look on his face.

"Take it easy, Mr. Kim. No one is accusing you of anything." Janeway gave Harry a small smile. "Mr. Paris was hurt last night and we are investigating the incident."

"Captain, did it have anything to do with the fight with Ken Dalby?" Harry asked.

"We're not sure, Mr. Kim. Do you have any information about Mr. Dalby?" Janeway questioned.

"No, Captain but there is something I should have told one of you about. Tom told me not to say anything but I think it's time I went against his wishes." concern for his friend evident in his voice.

  
"What is it, Harry?" Chakotay asked softly.

"Three days ago, Tom was supposed to meet me for dinner but didn't show up. I went to his quarters but he wouldn't let me in, at first. When I insisted, he let me in. His quarters had been trashed. Clothes and PADDS were strewn about and his wall mirror had been smashed." Harry stated quietly. "The worst, Captain, was they had destroyed the book you gave him, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He really treasured that book."

"Ensign Paris told you not to tell anyone?" Tuvok asked.

"Yes. Lieutenant, he also stated that is wasn't the first time it had happened. I know I should have come to one of you but Tom insisted he could handle it. Now, he's hurt and I could have prevented it." Harry whispered.

"No, Ensign. I don't believe you could have prevented this." Tuvok replied.

They were interrupted by the doctor's voice coming over the comm system. "Sickbay to Captain Janeway."

"Yes, Doctor, Janeway here." The Captain responded.

"You asked me to let you know when Ensign Paris would be able to be questioned. He is starting to regain consciousness now." the doctor replied.

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll be right there. Janeway out." The Captain answered and headed for the door.

to be continued.......................


	9. Chapter 9

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

Chapter 9

"Tuvok, you have the bridge." the Captain said. She turned to Harry, who was heading towards the bridge with Tuvok.. "Ensign Kim you're with us."

"Captain?" Harry asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Have you had breakfast yet, Mr. Kim?" the Captain asked as they headed for the corridor.

"No, Captain, not yet." Harry answered as they approached the turbolift.

"Go to the mess hall and get yourself some breakfast. This incident with Mr. Paris is not to be mentioned to anyone, is that understood?" Janeway stated as she called for the lift.

"Yes, Captain." Harry replied.

"I want you to meet me in sickbay in two hours, Mr. Kim." Janeway said. "If the doctor releases Mr. Paris, I don't want him to be alone. I want you to be with him."

"Yes, Captain, of course." Harry looked worried about Tom.

The Captain put her hand on Harry's arm. "Tom needs someone he feels comfortable with, Harry, someone he can talk to." Janeway and Chakotay entered the turbolift and the doors slid shut.

Harry headed for the mess hall with a concerned look on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Quiet voices could be heard in one of the crew's quarters on the lower decks.

"I'm telling you, Frank, I saw Ayala going into sickbay at 01:30 with a phaser on his belt." a nervous voice stated.

"That doesn't mean that Paris was in there." a deeper voice answered.

"Tuvok had Dalby in his office just after that. This could mean big trouble for us." the first voice said.

"Look, James, as long as you keep your mouth shut, we're OK. The fight Dalby had with Paris is perfect. He's the first one they'll suspect." Frank noted.

"But he'll deny anything. Besides, he was confined to quarters." James said nervously.

"And just who do you think will believe he's innocent? Tuvok or our illustrious Captain? Dalby's a Maquis and he'll be guilty first and questions asked later." Frank replied with a sneer.

"But what about Chakotay? He's a Maquis too." James questioned.

"Not anymore, he's as Starfleet as the rest of them. Just keep quiet and we'll be fine." Frank answered.

"You shouldn't have hit Paris so hard. You could've killed him." James stated.

"So what. That would be one less problem in the Delta Quadrant. Now let's get to our shifts. We don't want any suspicions." Frank headed for the corridor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You are not hungry, Ensign?" the clipped voice of Seven of Nine interrupted Harry's thoughts. 

He sat at a corner table and was pushing his breakfast around on the plate but not really eating. He was very worried about Tom. _'The Captain said that Tom was hurt and with a security guard in sickbay, it must be pretty bad. I hope he'll be OK.' _"Oh, I guess I have a lot on my mind this morning, Seven. What can I do for you?"  


"That last Kazon attack damaged the navigational array in Astrometrics and I require your assistance in repairing it." her reply was without emotion and she stood at his table awaiting him to accompany her.

"I'm sorry, Seven, but I have to report to the Captain for a special assignment."

"Perhaps, that assignment can be given to another crew member, you are the best suited for the repairs. Where is Ensign Paris? Doesn't he usually dine with you in the mornings?"

Harry was shaken by her mention of Tom's name. "He ..he couldn't make it this morning. I'll have to get back to you about those repairs, Seven."  
  
"Very well, Ensign. I will be in Astrometrics when you are able to 'get back to me'. Seven declared as she turned and left the mess hall.

Harry sighed as he downed the last of his coffee. Still deep in thought he didn't notice anyone approach his table until he heard a familiar voice.

"More coffee, Ensign?" Neelix asked, coffeepot in hand, as he stood next to Harry. "Is everything all right this morning?"  
  
"Eh...yes, Neelix. Just a little distracted. More coffee would be fine. Thanks." Harry looked up and held his cup out to be refilled.

"And where is Tom? He usually eats with you and I know how hungry he normally is in the mornings" Neelix questioned with his customary smile.

"He..he couldn't make it. I ..I think I've had enough breakfast. Thanks for the coffee, Neelix." Harry said as he grabbed his tray and headed for the recycler. He took a sip of the coffee and placed the cup on the tray and dumped his breakfast in the recycler. He left the mess hall and headed for the turbolift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Captain and Chakotay entered sickbay and the doctor approached them. "Good morning, Captain, Commander."

"Doctor, how is Mr. Paris?" The Captain asked as she looked towards the surgical bay.

"His surgery was successful, Captain. I wish to continue monitoring his brain functions for the next 36 hours. The fractures to his right arm were quite serious and he will need therapy to strengthen the muscles." the doctor replied.

"Can he be questioned now about the attack?" Chakotay inquired.

"You may go ahead and question him but I don't believe he can shed any more light on his attackers, Commander. He has very little memory of yesterday's actions." the doctor returned to his office.

Chakotay spoke to Lt. Ayala and dismissed him from sickbay. "Go and get some rest, we will need you again tonight."

Tom was awake, on the biobed in the surgical bay. The back had been raised slightly so he was propped in a sitting position. Ensign Wildman was holding a glass of water up to Tom's mouth. "Just a few sips, Tom." Sam gave him a smile as she put the glass down. "I'll get that hypospray now." She turned and walked towards a cabinet near the Captain and Chakotay.

Janeway stopped her. "Ensign, how is Mr. Paris, this morning?" The Captain asked as she looked at Tom. She knew she would get more from Sam than just the dry medical report that the Doctor had given her.

"He's a little groggy and is complaining of pain in his right arm. I think he'll be OK, Captain, although he will be quite tired." Sam answered as she went for the pain medication.

The Captain and Chakotay approached Tom's biobed. His eyes were closed and there was some slight swelling and bruising over his left cheek. His right forearm was propped on a foam wedge at his side.

The Captain noted that the readings over the biobed appeared to be in the normal range. "Good morning, Tom. How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

His eyes opened and he gazed at the Captain in slight confusion. "I ....guess I'm OK. A little dizzy, when I try to sit up, and I don't think I'll be up for arm wrestling any time soon." he gave her a small smile lifting his right arm slightly.

"Tom, do you remember anything about who attacked you?" Chakotay asked.

"No, I'm sorry, Commander. I remember B'Elanna saying we should break for dinner. She left the Jefferies tube first and I packed up the tool kit. The next thing I remember is you grabbing my arm in the corridor outside my quarters." Tom tried to shift his position and winced as he put pressure on his right arm.

Just then Sam returned with the hypospray. "Here, Tom. This Hydrocortilene will take care of that pain." She pressed it against his neck and, as the medication entered his bloodstream, his face relaxed.

"Tom, do you believe Ken Dalby was involved?" Chakotay asked when Tom opened his eyes again.

"No, Commander. The fight yesterday was an isolated incident. Dalby is all talk." Tom leaned his head back against the bed.

"Tom, the Doctor said this was not the first time you were assaulted . Who attacked you before and why didn't you come to one of us?" Chakotay asked quietly. He couldn't understand how Tom was able to keep the attacks hidden. He recognized that there had been signs but he hadn't investigated them. Perhaps he could have prevented this last encounter.

"It was always somewhere dark and isolated. I never was able to see who it was. I thought they would stop. It was just minor injuries before and I treated them myself. I didn't think you'd be concerned, Chakotay." Tom looked into the Commander's brown eyes and then turned away. He expected to see the contempt he felt would be directed at him. From the time he joined the Maquis, Chakotay had not had a good opinion of him. Of course, he never did much to change it.

"You're not the same man that I knew on the Liberty, Tom. You've changed and certainly don't deserve to be beaten half to death by anyone on this ship." He looked into the clear blue eyes of the younger man. "We will find who did this and they will be punished accordingly." Chakotay turned and left sickbay.

"Seven to Captain Janeway. I require your assistance in Astrometrics." Seven's voice came over Janeway's comm badge.

"Can you handle it alone, Seven?" Janeway asked.

"No, Captain. There are some readings you might be interested in." Seven replied.

The Captain turned to the Doctor as she left the surgical bay. "Doctor, I'll be in Astrometrics. Please inform me when Mr. Paris is ready to be released."

"Of course, Captain." The Doctor replied and returned to his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Captain Janeway entered the Astrometrics Lab and spotted Seven absorbed with the main display screen. "What have you found, Seven?" Janeway asked as she joined the former Borg at the screen.

"Captain, there are evidences of further gravimetric distortions about 12 light years from here. They are similar to the distortions we encountered during the last Kazon attack. I could obtain more accurate readings if the long range scanners had not been damaged." Seven had a slightly perturbed look on her face.

"How long until the scanners can be repaired?" Janeway questioned.

"I requested Ensign Kim to assist me but he reported that you had a special assignment for him. Without his aid it will take approximately 6.3 hours." Seven replied.

Janeway suppressed a smile at Seven's 'approximation'. "What if I were to assist you?"

"Then we should be able to complete the repairs in under 3 hours, Captain." Seven moved to the smaller scanning console.

"Then let's get started." Janeway joined her and started to examine the readouts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doors to sickbay swished open and Tuvok entered.

"Mr. Paris, I understand that you have no clue to your attackers identities." Tuvok asked as he approached the biobed.

"No, Sir. I remember packing up the tool kit in the Jefferies tube and opening the hatch. The next thing I remember clearly is Commander Chakotay grabbing my arm outside my quarters." Tom's voice was uncharacteristically quiet and restrained. His blue eyes showed no emotion as he looked up into Tuvok's face.

"I am continuing the investigation, Ensign. Be assured that they will be apprehended." Tuvok stated.

"Commander Chakotay to Lt. Tuvok. Please report to the bridge." Chakotay's voice came over the comm system.

"Tuvok here, Commander. I'm on my way." Tuvok turned and left Tom staring at the doors.

The Captain's voice came over the comm system in the Doctor's office. "Is Ensign Paris ready to be released to his quarters, Doctor?" .

"Yes, Captain, as long as someone will be with him for the first 12 hours. I'm still concerned about possible intercranial pressure and he should not be alone." The Doctor replied as he walked towards the biobed.

"Ensign Kim will be staying with Ensign Paris today." Janeway answered. "Janeway out."

As Harry entered sickbay, he noticed Tom was sitting on the edge of the biobed, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. The doctor was attaching a cortical monitor to Tom's left temple. "You need to wear this for the next 36 hours if you wish to remain out of sickbay. I want you back here at 15:00 hours for therapy for that arm. Is that understood, Mr. Paris?"

"Yeah, Doc. The monitor for 36 hours and therapy this afternoon." Tom answered in a notably subdued voice. This worried the doctor more than the physical injures. "Hey, Harry. So you get to baby-sit. What did you do to earn this honor?" Tom glanced up as Harry neared the biobed.

"Just lucky, I guess. You ready to be sprung from here?" Harry tried to sound cheerful but his face showed the concern he felt for his friend.

Janeway's voice came over Harry's comm badge. "Captain Janeway to Ensign Kim."

"Kim here, Captain." Harry responded.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kim but I've been detained and will be unable to meet you. I trust you had a good breakfast?" Janeway asked.

"Yes, Captain, although Seven requested my assistance in repairing the navigational array in Astrometrics." Harry responded.

"Don't worry about Astrometrics, I'm dealing with that situation." Janeway answered. "You are to stay with Mr. Paris today. Janeway out."

"Mr. Kim, here are two hyposprays. Mr. Paris may need one for pain, if necessary, every 4 to 6 hours." the doctor handed them to Harry. He turned to Tom. "The Captain has increased your replicator rations for the next few days so you don't need to go to the messhall."

"That's great, Doc." Tom replied as he swung his legs off of the biobed. He stood unsteadily for a moment and then walked slowly towards the exit with Harry at his side and headed for his quarters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chime at Tom's door sounded and Harry approached the door. "Who is it?" he asked.

"It's Captain Janeway, Harry." the Captain's voice sounded from the corridor.

Harry had to manually key the door open because it did not recognize his voice command. The Captain entered Tom's quarters and looked around. "Where's Tom?"

"He's asleep, Captain. We had some lunch and he complained of feeling dizzy so I convinced him to lie down about half an hour ago.." Harry gestured toward the bed on the far side of the room.

"Did he talk about last night at all?" Janeway questioned.

"No, Captain. He maintains that he couldn't tell who attacked him."

"Harry, could you remain here tonight. Lt. Ayala will be on security detail in the hall but I think Tom would feel more comfortable with someone here in his quarters. The Captain asked.

"Of course, I don't have any problems with staying here as long as it takes to find out who did this to Tom.

to be continued.............


	10. Chapter 10

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 10

"Why don't you take a break, Harry. I'll stay here with Mr. Paris and make sure he gets to sickbay for his therapy session." The Captain began to walk Harry towards the door.

"Captain?" he responded in a confused voice.

"It's OK, Harry, I have some reports to go over. I'll be fine." Janeway gave him a warm smile. Harry noted that The Captain had two PADDS in her hand. "You've done a good job. Get some rest and return about 1800 hours. I've increased Mr. Paris' replicator rations so you both can have dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Captain. I'll be back tonight." he returned her smile and walked into the corridor.

Janeway went over to the replicator on Tom's wall and ordered. "Coffee, black." she inhaled the scent and sat down on the couch. She set one of the PADDS down on the table, sat back and began to read the reports on the other one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Damn it, Joe! That's the fifth time we've tried to get shield harmonics back online in the past four hours. Something else must be wrong." Sue Nicoletti turned to Joe Carey.   
  
"Yeah, the Chief's going to have our heads if we can't get them up and running today. She's been upgrading the navigational array with Seven and you know what kind of mood she'll be in when she gets back here." Joe replied.  
  
Just then, B'Elanna strode into engineering and headed straight for her office. One could almost see the steam rising from her as she passed.  
  
"Yeah, not the kind of day to tell her the shield harmonics are still down." Sue agreed. "Why was she in Astrometrics and not Ensign Kim?"  
  
"I heard that Harry had a special assignment direct from the Captain." Joe answered.  
  
B'Elanna came out of the office just then, with a hot cup of coffee in her hand, and walked over to the two engineers. "How are we coming with the shield harmonics, Joe?" the tension in her voice noticeable.  
  
"Not too good, Chief. I think the gel packs may still be the problem. How many were you and Ensign Paris able to change yesterday?" Joe asked.  
  
"We finished in section 10 of Jefferies tube 63 and were going to work on section 9 this morning before I was ordered to Astrometrics." her volume slowly rising as she replied. "I wonder if Tom was able to finish them." she said. "Lt. Torres to Ensign Paris, come in please."  
  
There was no response and B'Elanna's expression became uneasy. _'Tom didn't show up_ _for dinner last night and now he's not answering his comm badge. Something must be wrong.'_ "Computer, location of Ensign Tom Paris."  
  
"Ensign Paris is in his quarters." the monotone voice replied.  
  
"Look, Lieutenant you've been at it since 0700 this morning. Why don't you take a break and go find Tom. Maybe he's finished the gel packs already." Joe pulled B'Elanna off to one side. "I heard that he and Dalby are confined to quarters. He might welcome a visitor." he smiled at her sympathetically. He knew that Tom and B'Elanna's friendship was deepening and he tried to encourage it. When B'Elanna was happy, engineering was a much easier place to work.  
  
"OK, if he didn't finish the gel packs, I'll commandeer him for a repair job. Keep working on the shield harmonics from here." B'Elanna left engineering to the relief of her staff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Janeway sat quietly reading the reports on her PADD when suddenly B'Elanna's voice came over Tom's comm badge. "Lt. Torres to Ensign Paris, come in please."  
Janeway grabbed the badge which was on the table in front of the couch. She glanced back at the bed but Tom didn't stir. _'Good, he didn't hear her. He needs his rest.'_ she thought as she placed the badge back on the table.  
  
The door chimed, about 10 minutes later, and Janeway stood up and went to it. "Who's there?" she asked.  
  
"Captain? It's B'Elanna." the surprised voice of her chief engineer was heard from the corridor. The door swished open and Captain Janeway stood in the entrance to Tom's quarters.  


"Captain, what's wrong with Tom? He didn't answer my call." B'Elanna tried to enter the room but the Captain walked out into the hallway and the doors closed.  
  
"Ensign Paris had a little problem last night and he's resting right now." The Captain looked calmly at B'Elanna.  
  
"Captain, Tom didn't show up for dinner last night. Chakotay went looking for him but I haven't seen the Commander today to ask where Tom was. We hadn't finished repairing the gel packs last night and I thought Tom went back there today." B'Elanna was getting very suspicious about Tom's actions.

"Ensign Paris is off duty for the next 36 hours, Lieutenant. You'll have to handle the repairs without him." Janeway turned to go back into Tom's quarters.

"Captain, is Tom in some sort of trouble? Was there another fight?" the concern for Tom was clear in B'Elanna's voice.

The Captain put her hand on B'Elanna's arm. "He'll be OK, B'Elanna. There was some trouble but it's being taken care of. I'll let him know you came by." she turned and keyed in the entry code and entered Tom's quarters.

Janeway moved quietly to Tom's bedside and looked down on her helmsman. He had not awakened at B'Elanna's visit. _'He looks so vulnerable and so young.'_ She remembered her first run-in with Tom Paris years ago.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Give it back, Tommy! Give it back right now!" a young girl's voice could be heard coming down the stairs from the second floor of Admiral Paris' house.

A whirlwind, dressed all in silver and blue, streaked through the foyer and slammed into the petite, red haired, young woman standing by the front window. "Ohmf! Now see what you made me do, Kathleen." the muffled reply came from the small figure now sitting on the floor.

The young woman knelt down until she was eye level with the boy. "Are you hurt?" she asked in a quiet voice." looking into his clear blue eyes.

A small smile lit up his face, as he pushed his blond hair out of his eyes. "No, Ma' am. I'm OK. Are you hurt?" he asked in a small but formal tone.

"No, I'm not hurt. You must be Thomas. My name is Kathryn Janeway and I have an appointment with your father." she gave him a smile.

"Yes, the Admiral said one of the cadets from Star Fleet was coming here today." he replied in the same formal tone, so out of place for a five year old.

"Tommy was playing pilot and he swiped my starship model." Kathleen stated as she entered the foyer. The model lay on the floor next to Tom. One of the nacelles appeared to be bent. Kathleen picked it up and turned it over in her hands. "Dad is going to be so angry with you now, Tommy."

"It was an accident." He looked up at Janeway. "Please don't tell the Admiral that I was running in the house. It's against his rules." the cobalt blue eyes widened in fear as the sound of the study door opening was heard.

"You'd better hide, Tommy. You're in big trouble now." the seven year old girl announced.

"No, no. I'm not. I'm not. No." the childish voice faded off........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No, no. I'm not." the same words returned Janeway's thoughts to the present. Tom was stirring in his bed repeating the words from her memory. He turned from side to side and flung his left arm in front of his face as if to ward off a blow. "No, please. Don't" he pleaded.

"Tom, wake up." the Captain called out to him with no response. She gently touched his left shoulder and spoke louder. "Ensign Paris!" 

Tom's eyes flew open and he bolted up into sitting, his breath coming in jagged gulps of air. His left hand went to his head and he closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness came on. "Captain?" he asked in a confused voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed a quiet place to work on reports so I told Ensign Kim to take a break. Are you OK?" she helped him to lie back down and reached for the hypospray on the bedside table. "Are you in any pain?"

"Not really, just a little dizzy. I guess I sat up too fast." Tom's breathing had evened out but his face was still quite pale.

"You were having a bad dream. You were repeating 'No, I'm not'. Do you remember what it was about?" 

"No, ..Captain, I ..don't remember it." Tom quietly answered with an anxious look on his face. He pushed himself into sitting and tossed the blanket, that covered him, to one side. Looking at the chronometer on his wall, he noted. "It's time for me to report to sickbay." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up slowly.

The Captain helped to steady him and walked to the corridor with him. They approached the turbolift and headed for sickbay.

"Lt. Torres to Captain Janeway. Captain, I must talk to you. It's quite urgent." B'Elanna's voice came through Janeway's comm badge.

"Meet me in my ready room, Lieutenant. Janeway out." When they reached sickbay, Janeway informed the Doctor that she had to leave but would be back when Tom's therapy was finished.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chime to the ready room sounded. "Come in." the Captain said as she sat down on her couch.

B'Elanna rushed in with a fearful look on her face. "Captain, I know that Tom's been hurt. Please tell me what happened. I went to check on the gel packs in Jefferies tube 63. One of the hyperspanners is missing and there's blood on the bulkhead near the tool kit. Tom was attacked last night, wasn't he? That's why he didn't show up for dinner and why you were in his quarters today." B'Elanna's voice rose in volume.

"Please, sit down, B'Elanna." Janeway indicated the end of the couch. "I'll explain what I know so far."

to be continued.........

  



	11. Chapter 11

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 11

B'Elanna walked over to the beige couch on the far side of the Captain's ready room. It was placed in front of the large view port. The stars moved by slowly as the ship moved, on impulse power, through this section of space. 

"Would you like anything to drink?" the Captain asked as she moved back to the replicator on the wall next to her desk.

  
"No, Captain, thank you. Now, what's going on with Tom? Was he attacked last night?" B'Elanna demanded.

"Yes, it appears he was attacked and beaten up pretty badly outside the Jeffries tube that you two had been working in." Janeway watched B'Elanna's face for her reaction.  
  
B'Elanna's eyes widened at the news about Tom. She cared more for him than she was ready to admit to herself.

  
The Captain related to B'Elanna the events of the night before. How Chakotay went looking for Tom when he didn't show up in the mess hall for dinner, and found him outside his quarters, staggering down the hall. Tom had been badly beaten. His left cheek bone had been shattered, he had a temporal skull fracture with bleeding in his brain, multiple bruises, and his right arm had been broken in three places.  
  
B'Elanna's face turned ashen at the news and her two stomachs roiled in anger. "Whoever it was must have hit him with the missing hyperspanner to cause those injuries. He could have been killed. Will he be OK?"  
  
"The Doctor said that he will make a complete recovery. He needs to wear a cortical monitor for another 24 hours and needs to have some physical therapy for his right arm. I just left him in sickbay for his first therapy session. He's suffering from some dizzy spells but claimed he was not in any more pain." Janeway replied softly, aware of the concern showing in B'Elanna's face.

"Captain, may I see him? I know that he's been confined to quarters, due to the fight with Dalby, but I want to see for myself that he's OK."  
  
"Of course, B'Elanna. He should be finished in sickbay in another 30 minutes if you want to meet him there." Janeway reached out to B'Elanna as the younger woman started to get up from the couch. "I'm sorry but there's more to this incident last night."  
  
"What do you mean, Captain? What else happened?" B'Elanna whispered in fear as she sat back down.  
  
"The Doctor's scans revealed that Tom has been attacked several times over the past six weeks. He had multiple injuries which he was apparently treating on his own in his quarters. He had taken some supplies from sickbay and did not intend on reporting  
these incidences."  
  
"Captain, if he was hit with the hyperspanner and Chakotay had not found him in time, Tom could have died." It was not a question but a statement. B'Elanna knew the damage that could be done by the missing tool and also how angry some of the crew had been towards Tom at the beginning of their journey.  
  
"You're right, B'Elanna. The Doctor confirmed that Tom would not have survived the night if he hadn't been found and beamed to sickbay. That's why I've ordered a guard outside his quarters at night and I do not want him to be alone until we apprehend the guilty crew members." 

"Captain, I wanted to come to you before. Harry and I had both noticed Tom's behavior had changed in the past few weeks. He was withdrawn and much too quiet for Tom. I knew something was troubling him but he refused to talk about it. The fight with Dalby was not Tom, at least not the Tom of the past year. He's changed, Captain. He wouldn't have gone off like that without a good reason. If I had come to you earlier maybe this last attack could have been prevented." B'Elanna stated as she tried calming herself down.  
  
"I was worried about Tom's behavior also, B'Elanna. He'd been preoccupied on the bridge, late for his duty shifts, and as you noted, much too quiet. He had been hiding the other attacks from everyone." Janeway attempted to ease B'Elanna's feelings of guilt.  


Janeway then stood up from the couch , indicating that their conversation was over. They walked to the ready room door but stopped before it opened. "Of course, this discussion is not to go beyond this room."

  
"Yes, Captain. I understand. I'm just concerned about Tom. I'll go to sickbay now." the doors opened and B'Elanna left the ready room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom sat on the edge of a biobed with the Doctor standing in front of him. "Try one more set, Mr. Paris." Doc instructed Tom how to use the resistive device to strengthen his right arm. A metal band went around his upper arm with a smaller one around his forearm. A thick elastic cord stretched between the bands and Tom straightened his elbow against the resistance. He repeated this ten times and then removed the two bands and placed the device next to him on the biobed.

The doors opened and B'Elanna walked in and went straight to Tom's side. She had a concerned look on her face and tentatively reached out to his left cheek. "I heard what happened. Are you OK?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, now." his quiet reply and pale face belied his statement. The red light of the cortical monitor stood out against his fair skin along with the faint bruise showing over his left cheek. "Can I go now, Doc?" he asked calmly.

The Doctor checked the monitor and shook his head slightly at the subdued demeanor of his most frequent patient. Tom's physical injuries were healing well but he was afraid that the emotional impact of the attack was affecting him deeply. "Will Lt. Torres be returning to your quarters with you?" he asked in the interest of Tom's safety. Captain Janeway had stated that Tom was not to be alone until his attackers were caught.

A faint blush spread across Tom's face at the Doctor's question and he looked away from B'Elanna. "I'm not sure, Doc." he answered hesitantly."

"Yes, Doctor. I just left the Captain and I'll go with Tom back to his quarters and meet up with Harry." B'Elanna gave the Doctor a slight smile as Tom stepped off the biobed. She held out her arm and he grabbed onto it with his left hand.

"In that case, Lieutenant I'll entrust you with these two hyposprays." handing them to B'Elanna. "They are for pain, if Mr. Paris requires them. They should be given every four to six hours, if needed, and should be enough until tomorrow." Turning then to Tom, he said. "You are to report here at 0900 hours to have the cortical monitor checked and for another therapy session. You need to use the resistance band for two more sessions today." the concern for the helmsman clear in the Doctor's expression.

__

'I swear the Doctor is becoming more human every day. He really cares about Tom.' B'Elanna thought. "I'll be sure he gets the hyposprays, Doctor, and does his exercises." She also picked up the resistance band.

"Yeah, Doc. I'll be in capable hands." Tom's smile did not reach his eyes and his hand on B'Elanna's arm trembled slightly as they turned and headed out of sickbay.

As the doors to sickbay closed, the couple did not notice the two crew members, at the end of the corridor, watching them walk towards the turbolift. The silent figures turned in the opposite direction and scurried down the hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chime to the ready room sounded. "Enter." the Captain's voice was heard. The doors swooshed open and Tuvok entered. He moved swiftly to the Captain's desk and stood at attention. Janeway stood at her viewport gazing at the starscape. "Yes, Lieutenant, what is it?" she did not turn from the view.

"I have finished questioning Crewman Dalby and I believe he is telling the truth that he was not involved in the incident last night concerning Ensign Paris. Scanning logs indicate that no one entered or left his quarters after 1700 hours yesterday except when he was brought to my office." Tuvok's quiet voice stating the information in an emotionless tone only served to upset the Captain.

"Someone is responsible for this and I mean to find out who. No member of my crew deserves to beaten so severely that they could have died." her voice rising, Janeway turned toward Tuvok.

"Do you wish Dalby to remain in his quarters, Captain or should I release him?" Tuvok asked with an impassive look on his face.

__

'If only Tuvok would show some of what he's thinking. I value his counsel but I need the emotional support. Who could hate Tom so much that they would risk killing him?'

"Yes, he is released from his quarters. I want an open comm badge on Ensign Paris at all times with a direct link to security." she waved him to the door and returned to gaze at the slowly moving stars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ship continued on its steady course to the Alpha Quadrant. Tom returned to the helm, after three days, and was accompanied by someone at all times. Tuvok was still unable to find evidence pointing to any crew member regarding the attack on Tom. 

The Alpha shift was ending and several relief officers had entered the bridge. As Tom explained the current readings at the helm, the ship was suddenly rocked with a blast from a Kazon ship that appeared out of nowhere. It was unexpectedly on the main view screen. "Red alert. Shields on full. Evasive maneuvers, Mr. Paris." the Captain shouted above the sound of consoles exploding.

Klaxons began to blare as Tom's fingers moved deftly across his console. The ship lurched to port and dove under the smaller attacking vessel. "Shields at 48%, Captain. Targeting their weapons array." Tuvok's voice cut through the confusion on the bridge.

"Captain, I'm losing control of the helm. The navigational array is off-line." Tom's voice rising in alarm as he struggled to regain control of the ship's movements."

As suddenly as it began, all was quiet except for the hiss of plasma escaping the ruptured consoles at telemetry. Luckily the station had been unmanned due to the still area of space they had been traveling through. The view screen showed only the stars in their constellations. They were not moving.

The Captain rose from her chair and ordered. "Stand down Red Alert."

"Engineering to Captain Janeway." B'Elanna could be heard over the comm system. "The warp core is off-line. I can give you impulse power only."

"That won't be necessary. The navigational array is also out." Janeway answered. She turned to Tuvok. "Report, Lieutenant."

"Shields are holding at 38%, damage reports coming in from engineering and Astrometrics. No major injuries reported." Tuvok's calm reply brought order to the Captain's thoughts.

The Captain turned to Chakotay "Commander, get repair crews down to engineering. We have to get the warp core back online before our 'friends' return." 

"Yes, Captain." He replied and started issuing commands from his console.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Repairs were taking longer than anyone expected and the various shifts wandered in and out of the mess hall, tired and hungry. Neelix kept a steady stream of dishes prepared for the crew. 

Ken Dalby approached the counter and grabbed a mug of coffee and something that resembled stew. He moved to a corner table, aware of the looks he received from some of the Star Fleet crew members. _'They've heard about the fight with Paris. I wonder how many know about last night. The Captain probably still believes that I was involved.'_

Two crew members sat at a table near Dalby, apparently unaware of his presence. "I heard they put an open comm link on Paris. What if he starts to remember something, Frank?" one of them asked.

"I told you, James. Just keep your mouth shut. Nobody suspects us and Paris won't remember what happened." Frank replied as they returned to eating their meals in silence. Finishing their dinner, the two men got up and walked towards the corridor.

Dalby finished his meal and left the mess hall following the two crew members.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The warp core was still off-line and Tom and Harry along with several engineers were trying to get the navigational array up and running. The Captain called Tom into her ready room and asked for an update on the repairs. When she was informed that the damage was more extensive then first believed, she asked if he could examine the ship from the outside to determine the exact location of the damage.

"I want you to go out in one of the smaller shuttles. You would need to take a crewman from engineering as well as someone familiar with the plasma manifolds." Janeway stated. She had asked Chakotay for the crew list and he had suggested Crewmen Darwin and Morrow. "They'll meet you in the shuttle bay in 30 minutes." she dismissed Tom and returned to the bridge to oversee repairs to the engineering station.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dalby was nearing the turbolift when the Captain's hail reached Darwin and Morrow. They were instructed to join Ensign Paris in the shuttle bay for an exterior inspection of Voyager's nacelles. He saw the deceptive smile on Frank Darwin's face as the two men entered the turbolift. "Shuttle bay." the deep voice ordered as the doors closed.

__

'I shouldn't get involved but this could be trouble.' he thought as he tapped his comm badge. "Crewman Dalby to Captain Janeway." 

"I'm rather busy Crewman, could this wait?" Janeway's voice sounded as if she were right next to him.

He almost changed his mind but thought better of it. "Captain, may I talk to you privately?"

"Meet me in my ready room in 15 minutes. Janeway out."

He entered the turbolift and ordered the computer to take him to deck one.

to be continued...

(2383 words)


	12. Chapter 12

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 12

Tom entered the shuttle bay and strode over to one of the smaller ships. They needed something small and fast to run external scans over the nacelles to determine the damage their internal sensors were not picking up. As he entered the hatch, he noted the two crewmen that Chakotay had suggested. He had seen them before on occasion but did not know James Morrow, from the manifold repair crew, or Frank Darwin, from engineering, well.

"Ensign Paris, I understand we are going on a scanning flight." James asked in a tremulous voice.

Tom noted the apprehension on Morrow's face. "Are you nervous being in the shuttle, Crewman?" Tom asked sympathetically. He knew how uncomfortable he felt in small, confined spaces.

"No, Sir. Just worried about all of these attacks. I thought we left the Kazon behind months ago." James answered giving a quick glance in Frank's direction.

"Don't they prey on the weak and defenseless." Frank's deeper voice asked with a glare at James. "Voyager seems to fit that bill now." he looked at Tom when he said this and then resumed his checks of the engineering station.

Tom hesitated slightly. Something about Frank's voice seemed to stir a memory but he wasn't sure why, or what, it was. He shook his head to clear it and took the pilot's seat. "If we're ready, gentlemen, lets proceed. Paris to the bridge. Request permission to leave the shuttle bay."

"Kim here, Tom. Your shuttle is cleared for take off. Signaling shuttle bay doors to open now."

The doors opened and Tom smoothly navigated the shuttle into open space. They slowly moved along the outside of Voyager scanning for damage from the last attack. Tom gazed at the ship as they came around for a second pass. The beauty of the ship never failed to move him. He recalled the first time he had seen Voyager. It was from the view screen of the shuttle bringing him from the penal colony to Deep Space 9..........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had been flying for more than six hours when they reached DS9. "That's our ship." Lieutenant Stadi, the attractive Betazoid pilot had pointed to the view screen. "That's Voyager. An Intrepid Class with 15 decks, a stable cruise velocity of warp 9.975, a crew compliment of 141, and bio-neural circuitry."

Tom was speechless. He had heard about the Intrepid Class but couldn't imagine a more beautiful sight. _'If only I were not an_ _observer'_ he thought. What would it be like to pilot a beauty like the ship filling the view screen?

After an encounter with the Ferengi, Quark, on DS9, he and Harry Kim had boarded Voyager. Harry was a young, very green, Ensign. Tom knew he was not in for an easy two week 'observation' when the Chief Medical Examiner, Fitzgerald, had brought up Caldik Prime. He tried to avoid telling Harry, but after seeing the CME talking with Commander Cavit in the mess hall, he was determined to tell the young Ensign the truth about his past.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry had still decided to be his friend and they had become close in the past few years. Tom's thoughts returned to the shuttle as they neared the port nacelle again. "Paris to Commander Chakotay. Commander, we've spotted some shearing to the port nacelle. We might have to send out crews in EVA suits for the repairs."

"Understood, Paris. After you check the starboard nacelle, return to the ship. Chakotay out."

Just as Tom was starting to reply to Chakotay, the Kazon ship appeared before them, dwarfing the shuttle by its size. A laser beam shot out and the shuttle was forced down and away from Voyager. "Voyager! We are under attack! We'll try to lead them away from you." Tom's voice came over the comm system as the Kazon ship loomed in the main view screen.

Chakotay turned to the tactical station. "Computer, red alert. Tuvok, lock onto the Kazon ship's weapons systems. The shuttle is no match for that ship. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chime at the Captain's ready room door sounded. "Come in." she called out. Janeway turned from her view port to see Crewman Dalby enter. "Crewman, please sit." she indicated a chair in front of her desk. "What did you want to see me about?"

Dalby swallowed nervously and sat down. He could not look the Captain in the eyes but clasped and unclasped his hands in his lap.

The Captain cleared her throat and looked directly at Dalby. "Crewman?" her voice was crisp and meant business.

"Captain, Lt. Tuvok told me that Tom Paris had been attacked. I want you to know that I had nothing to do with it. Sure, we d..don't get along, ever since his time on the Liberty, but I could n.never attack someone so viciously. Besides, he's the best pilot on Voyager and I w..want to get home. I have f.family in the Alpha Quadrant." He stammered slightly and his face glistened with sweat.

"Mr. Dalby, I'm afraid I don't have much time for this. If you just want to assuage your conscience, you may speak with Commander Chakotay once we have repairs underway." Janeway rose and implied that she had finished with their meeting.

"Please, Captain. That's not why I'm here. I heard you order James Morrow and Frank Darwin to join Ensign Paris on the shuttle. I overheard them talking in the mess hall and I think they might have been involved with the attack on Ensign Paris." Dalby looked down at the floor. He did not want to be known as a snitch among the Maquis but he also did not want the death of a fellow crewman on his conscience.

"Are you sure about this, Crewman?" Just as the Captain was ready to contact the shuttle, the red alert klaxons began to blare. "You're with me. On the bridge." she turned to Dalby and proceeded through the doors to her command chair.

The bridge was suddenly rocked with a blast from the Kazon ship. Turning to Tuvok, Janeway ordered. "Report!"

"The Kazon ship has returned, Captain. They have fired on the shuttle." Tuvok replied in his quiet, calm voice.

"Mr. Kim, can we beam them out of there?" she asked looking at Harry.

His face paled as he realized the danger his friend was in. "No Captain, the transporters are down."

Captain Janeway stared in horror as the shuttle was rocked again and again by weapons fire from the much larger Kazon vessel. 

"Get a tractor beam on them, anything. We have to get them out of there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom fought for control of the helm as the small shuttle was hit with another laser blast. He looked up at the view screen and suddenly swore. "Where the hell did that come from?" Before him, aimed right at the shuttle, was a Romulan Warbird that had just de-cloaked.

They were suddenly hit with a Romulan disruptor beam, plunging the shuttle into darkness. Emergency lighting came on above the consoles. The ship was rocked by the blast of a photon torpedo, fired from the Warbird. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bridge crew watched helplessly as suddenly, from out of nowhere, appeared a Romulan Warbird. It was headed on a collision course right for the shuttle. As the bridge crew watched helplessly, the Romulan ship drew near the smaller shuttle and the two ships disappeared in a flash of light.

"Captain, we are being hailed." Harry said in a stunned voice. He couldn't believe that the shuttle had disappeared with Tom on it. _'Tom has got to be OK. He's been through too much lately. And why is Dalby on the bridge? He came out of the Captain's ready room. I wonder if he was involved with the attack on Tom.'_

"On screen." Janeway ordered. The screen cleared and they were looking into a distinctly Romulan face. _'First the Kazon and now a Romulan on the bridge of the Kazon ship.' _she thought. "What is going on and where is our shuttle?" she demanded.

The Romulan officer glanced around the bridge looking at each crew member in turn. "Greetings, Captain Janeway. Your reputation precedes you."

The Captain let out the breath she had been holding and moved to stand behind the conn. She noted Kazon as well as Romulan officers behind the speaker. "To whom do we owe the honor of this visit. I was unaware of any Romulan ships in the Delta Quadrant." She hoped her voice did not betray her apprehension. 

"I am Commander Talok of the Romulan Army. We have made an alliance with Maj Goral to track down your ship.We shall be boarding your ship shortly. You are to proceed to the coordinates being transmitted to your helm officer. There you and your crew will be put off the ship."

"And if we refuse to follow those coordinates?" Janeway questioned in an icy tone of voice.

"Your ship will be boarded and the crew taken prisoner. You will find that we are not barbarians. I have convinced Maj Goral to let your people live. Now please proceed to the coordinates. Talok out."

The screen went blank and the crew looked to the Captain for guidance_. _"Lieutenant, status of engines and shields." she turned to Tuvok.

"Warp engines are off-line and shields are at 48%. I believethe logical course, at the moment, is to follow the Kazon ship while we attempt repairs." Tuvok's quiet voice contrasted with the fear in the other bridge officers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom fought the helm controls on the shuttle as he felt them drawn towards the Warbird. He knew they were being pulled in by a tractor beam.When the Romulan ship was only about 10 meters from the shuttle a bright flash of light engulfed the two ships and they were pulled into warp.

"I can't break free of their tractor beam. Darwin, what's our weapons status?" Tom asked over his shoulder. He couldn't take his eyes off of the helm controls. 

"Weapons are off-line, Ensign." Frank spit out. He glared at Tom's back as if it was his fault they were attacked. 

The shuttle continued to be pulled helplessly along with the Romulan ship. Tom attempted to access the communication system but only heard static coming from the comm. "I think we are being cloaked and communications can't get through in any direction. Morrow, can you find anything on the long range scanners?"

"There's an M-class planet about one light year ahead, Sir." Morrow answered, fear evident in his unsteady voice. "Do you think Voyager was able to follow us?"

"Why would they even bother?" Frank spit out. "Janeway wouldn't risk the rest of the crew to come after the three of us." He rose angrily from his seat and headed for the helm.

Suddenly, the shuttle pitched sharply to port and shuddered as the tractor beam released them. A shrill sound erupted from the perimeter alarms.

"Sir, we're c..coming in too f..fast to the planet's s..surface." Morrow stuttered as he stared out the view port.

The planet's surface rushed towards them as Tom tried desperately to halt the rapid descent. His fingers flew across the helm control but had no effect. "I can't slow us down. I'll try to steer us into a glide pattern. Brace for impact. "

The shuttle hurtled towards the ground and pitched forward upon impact. The red dust on the surface clouded around the shuttle as it came to a stop. Inside, all was quiet and dark.

to be continued.......


	13. Chapter 13

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 13

"Ensign Baytart, take the helm and lay in a course to follow the coordinates as transmitted." Janeway said in a resigned and tired voice as she sank into her command chair. She rubbed at the headache pounding in her temples. The shuttle was gone. Three crewmembers were gone with it. The Kazon and Romulan officers were holding her ship captive. If they didn't follow the instructions, her crew would all be taken prisoner. Kazon prisons were notorious for cruelty and the Romulans were no better.

An uneasy silence permeated the bridge as the shaken officers tried to comprehend what they had seen. Romulans in the Delta Quadrant. The shuttle with three of their comrades was gone and Voyager was now at the mercy of a more powerful ship.

Chakotay leaned towards the Captain and touched her arm to get her attention. "Repair crews are working on the shields and should have them back to maximum within three hours." he stated quietly with a sympathetic look on his face. He knew how protective she was of all of her crewmembers.

Janeway gazed out the main viewport, still in shock at the loss of the shuttle. "Even then, our weapons are still not at full strength and warp drive is off-line. We need to find the shuttle with Tom and the others." her voice barely above a whisper. She patted his hand and rose from the chair. "Mr. Tuvok, you have the bridge. We'll be in Astrometrics." she indicated that Chakotay join her as she headed for the turbolift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A slight moan was heard from the floor of the shuttle as emergency lighting bathed the interior in pale blue light. Tom pushed himself into a sitting position and shook his head to clear it. He pulled open a storage bin and reached in for a medkit. Taking the tricorder, he slid over to Morrow and began to scan him for injuries. "You'll be OK. Just a few cracked ribs and a gash on your temple." he assured the frightened crewman.

"Get the hell away from him!" Darwin shouted as he grabbed Tom by his jacket and hauled him to his feet. Although Tom was a good two inches taller than him, Darwin had more weight to his advantage. He rammed Tom against the bulkhead and Tom winced in pain as he felt the bones in his right forearm snap. He slumped to the floor of the shuttle and clutched the injured arm to his chest.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I'm trying to help him." Tom muttered at Darwin. He tried to push into standing but stumbled as the shuttle shifted.

"You've helped enough, traitor. If it wasn't for you we wouldn't be here at all." Darwin's deep voice cut through the air. He advanced towards Tom with hate on his face.

Tom's eyes widened in recognition. It was _Frank's_ voice he had heard that night outside the Jeffries tube. Frank had been there when he was attacked. Tom remembered hearing Frank order someone to hold his arms behind his back. Was that someone James Morrow? "W..what did I do? Why......?"

Tom's questions were cut off when the shuttle's hatch was struck by weapons fire. Frank spun around and grabbed his phaser. Tom pulled himself to standing and headed for the communications console. "I'll try to send a message to Voyager." he said. Tom glanced towards James Morrow who was trying to get up into a sitting position. "Morrow, get your phaser out. We'll try to stall them as long as possible."

Frank turned and faced the rear of the shuttle, phaser drawn. He could hear voices from outside as the hatch began to open. Three Romulan soldiers appeared with disruptor rifles in their hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Captain and Chakotay left the turbolift and headed for Astrometrics. Seven was tapping coordinates into the main console as they entered. 

"Captain, Commander, I may have located the shuttle. There's a small moon orbiting an M-Class planet four light years from here. A Romulan vapor trail appears at 1.4 light years from the moon's surface. They may have been pulled in by the planet's gravitational pull and crashed on the moon."

"How soon until we get close enough to scan for signs of the shuttle?" Janeway asked in a weary voice. Maybe they would find their missing crewmen.

"We would need to be at least two light years closer but the moon is not along the path of the coordinates transmitted from the Kazon ship." Seven replied as she projected the ship's path on the main screen.

"As we get closer, perhaps we could try to deviate from the path long enough to scan for the shuttle." Chakotay suggested. He was also concerned about the three crewmen since The Captain had informed him of her conversation with Dalby. He was aware of the danger that Tom was in since he was apparently with the two men who had attacked him.

Suddenly, the red alert klaxons began to blare. "Janeway to the bridge. What the hell is going on now?"

"Captain, another Kazon ship has appeared and they are firing on the first ship." Tuvok's voice, although calm, held a note of puzzlement.

"We'll be right there. Captain out." Janeway and Chakotay turned for the exit. "Seven. continue to try to scan for any signs of the shuttle."

"Of course, Captain." Seven replied as the command team left Astrometrics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The main viewscreen lit up with weapon's fire as the two Kazon ships circled each other. Voyager was temporarily ignored in the clash. "Captain to Astrometrics." Janeway eyed the two ships.

"Yes, Captain." Seven's voice came through the comm system.

"Transmit the coordinates of that moon to the helm." Janeway ordered. While the two Kazon ships were occupied with each other she planned to slip away and find their lost shuttle.

"Captain, the two Kazon ships are powering up their weapons systems." Harry announced suddenly.

Janeway looked at the viewport to see the first ship hit with photon torpedo blasts. It fired back but was clearly no match. Voyager rocked from the shock waves. Suddenly, the first ship exploded in a huge ball of fire. The bridge crew looked on in shock.

"Captain, we are being hailed. Audio only." Harry stated.

"Open a channel, Ensign." Janeway ordered.

"Federation, prepare to be boarded." the familiar voice of a Kazon came over the comm system.

Janeway glanced at her first officer with a confused look on her face. Chakotay recognized the voice and motioned to Harry to cut the sound. "Captain, if I may?" he asked. She nodded her head and signaled Harry to open the link again. "Kazon ship, this is Commander Chakotay from the Federation Starship Voyager."

The starscape was abruptly replaced with the bridge of the Kazon ship. Three men were seen with a younger man to the left of the screen. He repeated his earlier command. "You are our enemy. Prepare to be boarded."

"Kar, it's good to see you are well." Chakotay gave the young man a small smile.

"I am Jal Kardane Razik, Federation. You were warned that the next time I met you I would kill you." He straightened to his full height and glared at Chakotay.

"Silence, Kar!" snapped the Kazon in the center of the screen. "We have no conflict with the Federation vessel." he turned to the viewscreen. "I am First Maj Halize."

"Yes, Maj, I recall meeting you." Janeway replied. "I would like an explanation. What are Kazon ships doing in this sector of the quadrant and why were Romulan soldiers aboard?"

The Maj rose from his chair and approached the screen. "We have been following their ship for many days. The Romulan Warbird was also drawn into the Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker. Maj Goral was able to adapt the cloaking technology from the Warbird which made it difficult to track them They attacked our encampment and many were killed. We have sought our revenge. Our mission here is completed."

"But First Maj......" Kar began, but was cut off.

"Quiet!" Halize ordered. "The Federation saved your life and enabled you to earn a name." he glared at Kar. "We will leave you now but if we are to meet again it will be as enemies." the transmission was abruptly cut off.

Janeway let out the breath she had been holding and turned to the helm. "Ensign, please continue to the coordinates for the moon. It's time to find our shuttle." she said as she lowered herself back into her command chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Romulans raised their disruptor rifles, aiming at Frank and Tom. "Get away from the controls. You are our prisoners. You will come with us now." the first Romulan ordered as he pointed his weapon at Frank.

"You won't take me. I'll be damned if I'm going to one of your prisons." Frank yelled.

"Darwin, stand down. That's an order." Tom shouted as Frank raised his phaser and lunged at the first soldier. The Romulan fired at Frank, hit him in his chest and he fell to the floor. 

Tom turned back to the communication console and attempted to send out a warning beacon. The Romulan lowered his weapon at the console and fired. The console exploded in a blast of sparks sending Tom flying across the shuttle and slamming into the far bulkhead.

Morrow dropped his phaser, struggled to his feet, and raised both hands in surrender. He looked to Darwin and knew that he was already dead. He then turned to Tom who was crumpled against the bulkhead. He could see burns on his uniform jacket and how deathly still he lay.

"Bring him." the soldier ordered his companions as he motioned Morrow to precede him out of the shuttle. The other two Romulans hauled Tom to his feet and dragged him out of the shuttle.

to be continued..........


	14. Chapter 14

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 14

"Seven to the Captain. Long range scans are picking up signs of the shuttle on the moon's surface." Seven's voice broke the silence on the bridge.

The Captain turned to Tuvok. "Lieutenant, please join me in Astrometrics." The two officers headed for the turbolift. "Chakotay, you have the bridge."

Chakotay settled back in his seat and stared out the viewport. The bridge returned to its silent state as each person quietly manned his or her station. The ship continued on the heading towards the moon where they hoped to find the shuttle and their missing crewmen.

"Commander, I'm picking up signs of the Romulan Warbird." Harry interrupted Chakotay's thoughts. "Their ion trail leads to the moon but disappears in the upper atmosphere."

"Ensign Baytart, how long until we are within range of the moon?" Chakotay asked, turning to the helmsman.

"We should be within range in one hour, Sir." Baytart answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Captain and Tuvok entered Astrometrics to find Seven at the main console. Her face showed the strain the entire crew had been under since the Kazon ship had first appeared. She punched in some numbers again and a frown crossed her face. "Captain, Lieutenant, I have found the shuttle on the moon's surface but the sensors are not picking up any life signs of the crew."

"Are there any signs elsewhere on the planet?" Tuvok asked.

Seven again checked the console's screen then turned to the two officers. "There are signs of Romulans near the hills but no human life signs." she replied quietly, looking towards Janeway. "I'm sorry Captain."

Janeway's face showed no emotion as she turned to the exit doors. "I'll be on the bridge." she whispered as she walked out of the room.

Tuvok joined Seven at the console as she continued to monitor the sensor readings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the turbolift, the Captain massaged her temples as she slumped against the far wall. She tried to make sense of the events of the past few hours. Her ship attacked yet again by Kazon and Romulan weapons. The shuttle with three crewmen missing and now found on the surface of an alien moon with no life signs of her crewmen. She pushed herself to her full height, as the doors opened, took a deep breath and walked forward. 

Janeway crossed the bridge and quietly took her seat. Chakotay looked at her grave expression and knew that there was bad news. He reached out and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Her mouth trembled slightly and tears filled her eyes. She shook her head and sat up straighter in her seat. "Seven found the shuttle but there are no human life signs in the area."

The rest of the bridge crew stiffened at her announcement. Harry's face turned ashen as he realized the implications. _'Tom and the others were dead.' _

"Captain, we're being hailed." Harry's voice wavered.

"On screen." Janeway ordered as she stood up and approached the view screen.

__

A Romulan officer appeared before the bridge crew. He sat at the helm of the Warbird. Three other Romulans stood behind him. "I am Subcommander Karsis, I order you to leave this area before you are fired upon."

Janeway stood tall and crossed her arms across her chest. Taking a breath, she cleared her throat and spoke to the view screen. "This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager and we are trying to retrieve our shuttle and our crewmen."

The Romulan sat back in his chair and gave Janeway a faint smile. "We are holding two of your crewmen prisoner, Captain. They will serve us well on our ship."

Janeway steeled herself before she responded. "There were three crewmen on that shuttle. Where is the third man?"

"Dead, on the shuttle. He apparently did not care to join us." Karsis replied.

The bridge crew silently observed the Captain.

The Captain did not reveal that they could not locate any life signs of the crewmen. "How do I know you are really holding my men. I want to see them to know that they are all right." Janeway's voice was strong as she stood back from the screen and placed her hands on her hips_._

Karsis turned to one of the other officers and motioned him forward. The man came into view and held up two Starfleet jackets. One was gold trimmed. The other, with red trim on the shoulders, showed evidence of burn marks across the frontwith the most severe at the neck and sleeves.

B'Elanna let out a small gasp as she realized that Tom must still be alive but badly injured. She looked across the bridge to meet Harry's stunnedface. "Captain," she whispered. "We have to get them out of there. They need medical assistance."

Janeway silenced B'Elanna with a sharp look and turned back to Karsis_. _"My men need medical attention. Please allow our doctor to come to the surface and take care of them."

"Any attempt to land will be seen as an act of aggression and you will be fired upon. I order you once again to leave this area." Karsis signaled one of his men and the transmission was terminated.

"Captain, we can't leave them there. Tom's been hurt and we don't know about Darwin or Morrow." B'Elanna spoke up as she looked at Chakotay for support.

"I don't intend to leave anyone on the surface, Lieutenant. Are transporters still off-line?" Janeway turned to B'Elanna.

"Yes, Captain. It will take at least two hours until they are functional. They may not have that long." _'Tom may not have that long.' _she thought. B'Elanna did not realize how deep her feelings were for the helmsman until he was in trouble.

Janeway turned to Chakotay. "Commander, I want the Delta Flyer taken to the surface with an away team to include the Doctor. We'll provide cover for you. I want our crewmen recovered."

"Yes, Captain." Chakotay rose from his seat. "Tuvok, Harry, you're with me." he strode toward the turbolift with the two officers joining him. "Lieutenants Ayala and Baxter, please report to shuttle bay two." Chakotay spoke to the comm system as he entered the turbolift.

Janeway sank into her command chair and turned to B'Elanna. "Lieutenant, I want you to assistant Seven in Astrometrics to increase the scanner sensitivity. They must be holding our men in the caves. The atmospheric conditions might be blocking our sensors from picking up their life signs."

"Yes, Captain." B'Elanna replied, with relief in her voice, as she realized that Tom was not dead. She hurried to the turbolift eager to do something to help bring him back on board Voyager. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

__

'Cold. So very cold.' Tom struggled to regain consciousness. He shivered as he tried to open his eyes. He felt a sharp burning pain in both eyes and squeezed them shut again. His right arm throbbed and both hands felt alternately like they were on fire and then freezing. He tried to remember what had happened and where he was. 

He remembered being on the shuttle, surveying the damage to Voyager from the last Kazon attack. They were fired upon and then the tracking beam caught them. He remembered trying to prevent a crash landing on the moon's surface. Then, Darwin had hauled him away from Morrow and slammed him into the bulkhead. That explained the pain in his arm. It had broken again when he hit the bulkhead.

__

Darwin, the Romulans had fired at him. Was he OK? What about Morrow? "Is anyone else here?" Tom rasped out. So his throat hurt too. Where the hell were they and why was it so cold? He heard movement to his left and then a quiet voice near him.

"Sir, it's M..morrow. Don't try to sit up. You've b..been injured."the voice stammered out. Tom felt a hand on his left shoulder.

"Is Darwin here, too?" Tom asked as he tried to slowly open his eyes again. "Where are we? Why is it so cold?"

There was an uncomfortable silence, then Morrow's voice again. "Darwin's dead, Sir. They shot him on the shuttle. We're in some sort of cave system. They took our jackets and boots. They must figure we wouldn't try to escape and the cold would keep us in here."

"Are you OK?" Tom asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, Sir. Only cold." Morrow answered.

"I guess it's the middle of the night, too." Tom stated. "They don't even have a torch light down here?"

Again, the painful silence. "No, Sir. It's actually about 1600 hours and there are two small torch lights."

Tom slowly lifted his left hand and passed it in front of his eyes. He brought it towards his eyes but was grabbed by Morrow before he could touch his face. "W..what happened?" he croaked out, fear tingeing his voice.

"They shot out the communications c..console, Sir. You were right in front of it. You have some pretty b..bad electrical and chemical burns on your face and hands. They w..wouldn't let me bring a medkit." Morrow stammered out, regret evident in his reply.

Tom shivered again as he closed his eyes and brought his arms across his chest. "Voyager will find us. The Captain won't want to lose her best pilot and a member of the manifold repair crew." his quiet voice trying to reassure himself as well as his companion.

"Yeah, right. Janeway should be here any time now." Morrow's voice held no belief in what he was saying.

Silence descended on the cave as the two men retreated into their own thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lieutenant, fire phasers at them again." Janeway turned to Tuvok. The Delta Flyer was nearing the surface of the moon and she wanted them to land safely. Chakotay had reported that the Romulans had fired on them but he was able to maneuver clear of the weapons. The Warbird appeared to be on the surface of the moon and could not adequately track the Flyer's movements.

"Seven to the Captain. I believe Lieutenant Torres and I have located two of the life signs of the shuttle crew. They are inside one of the caves on the north side of a ravine approximately 200 meters from the shuttle. Neither crewman has their comm badges."

Janeway relayed Seven's message to Chakotay and he prepared to land the Delta Flyer as close to the downed shuttle as possible without being fired upon by the Romulans.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of distant weapons fire roused the two men in the cave. Tom struggled to sit up but a shooting pain in his right arm caused him to collapse back down on the hard cave floor. He felt strong hands on his shoulders as he was helped up to lean against the wall. "Thanks." he whispered, his throat still raw from the chemical burns. "Did they at least leave us some water?"

Morrow stood and walked to the far side of the small cave and came back with a bucket and ladled out some water for Tom. "I'm not sure how clean this is but it's certainly cold." he held the ladle to Tom's lips, realizing that he would have difficulty holding it with his burned hands. "Do you think that's Voyager shooting at them?"

Tom drank gratefully from the ladle and wiped his mouth with his left sleeve. "That doesn't sound like any of Voyager's weapons. More like the Romulans shooting at someone else." Tom leaned his head back against the wall of the cave and shivered again. "It feels colder, is it night yet?"

"It looks darker outside, Sir. Sorry but there's nothing in here to keep us warm. Only the two small wall torches, this water, and lots of rocks." Morrow sounded lost as he sank down next to Tom.

"It's just Tom, not Sir, down here. Is there any more water?"

"Yes, S.ir...er...Tom." Morrow carefully held the ladle up so Tom could drink. "I'm sorry for what Darwin did...for what we did to you."

"So, you were with him outside the Jeffries tube. Why? I didn't even know you two before Voyager."

"We were with the Maquis, in the badlands. Frank said you betrayed us. Led the shuttle to the Federation ship. His brother, John, was on the shuttle and wound up in a penal colony. John was only 19 and was killed in an accident at the prison."

"I didn't know. I remember John. Nice kid. Darwin lied to you. I never betrayed the Maquis. I was set up. Someone told the Federation ship right where to find the shuttle. I tried to lead them away from the base and to try to get to one of the moons but the shuttle was too old and I c..couldn't outrun their ship." Tom's voice cracked from the effort of talking.

Morrow was quiet as Tom's answer sunk in. "But Frank said you were released from the penal colony to track the rest of us down for the Federation. He said that you were only sentenced to a few month to make it look legitimate to the Maquis. You were on the bridge when Chakotay beamed aboard." his voice betrayed the confusion in his mind.

"I was never released from the penal colony. It was to be a two-week furlough with a good word for my next outmate meeting. I wasn't in for a few months, Morrow. I was sentenced to 10 years. I guess Starfleet had it in for me ever since Caldik Prime." Tom whispered as the talking set him coughing.

Weapons fire sounded much louder than before. Morrow looked around for something to use to defend them with and picked up one of the larger rocks. He moved to crouch in front of Tom.

to be continued.......

(2337 words)


	15. Chapter 15

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 15

The Delta Flyer was being fired on but Harry, who was at the helm, was able to evade the most direct hits. Tuvok fed the scanner reports directly to the helm and fired back at the Romulan Warbird.

"I'm picking up the shuttle on the surface now, Ensign Kim." Tuvok reported. "It's about 500 meters from the Warbird, just past a stand of trees."

"Harry, bring it down. We'll provide cover fire." Chakotay ordered. "The Warbird appears to be on the surface and they will have difficulty tracking us."

"Aye, Sir." Harry guided the Flyer to the surface just 10 meters from the shuttle. "Commander, sensors read a surface temperature of 6 degrees, Celsius."

The away team put on the heavy jackets that they had stowed on the flyer, and headed for the shuttle. Once inside, they discovered Darwin's body and the damage from the Romulan's weapons. The communication's console had been destroyed. along with other smaller consoles.

"It appears that Crewman Darwin died instantly." the Doctor stated as he scanned the body with his medical tricorder. 

Weapons fire could be heard outside the shuttle so Tuvok led the away team to the cover of some nearby rocks. They exchanged fire with the Romulans who fled to the Warbird. One of the Romulans was seen heading for the caves.

"Commander, you and the Doctor come with me. We'll circle around to the cave entrance and try to locate Ensign Paris and Crewman Morrow." Tuvok ordered and then turned to the others. "You stay here and observe the Warbird.

As Tuvok, Chakotay, and the Doctor worked their way around the Warbird, it unexpectedly lifted into the air. They watched it rise to several hundred meters above the planet's surface, move off to the north, and suddenly explode. They then continued into the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Captain, I'm picking up weapons fire on the surface. The Romulans are firing on the away team." Ensign Lang reported from the Ops station.

"Hail the Warbird." Janeway ordered.

The viewport suddenly was filled with the bridge crew of the Romulan Warbird. Subcommander Karsis's angry face glared at the Captain. "You were warned to stay off the planet's surface. Your men will be killed."

"I will not leave any of my crewmembers to be prisoners on your ship. I will open fire on your ship if you do not cease firing on my away team immediately." Janeway snapped at the Subcommander with fire in her eyes. She was extremely protective of her crew.

"The Warbird is powering up their engines." Ensign Lang stated in a nervous voice.

"Target their propulsion system." Janeway ordered.

As they watched the sensors, the Warbird lifted off the planet's surface and headed towards Voyager. On the viewscreen, the Romulans on the bridge could be seen shouting about one of their consoles. The Subcommander turned to Janeway and scowled at her. "The Federation will never gain access to our cloaking system or our ship." he calmly stated as the Warbird suddenly exploded before them.

"Captain, our sensors indicate that their warp core overloaded." Ensign Lang noted.

"Contact the away team." Janeway sank into her command chair, letting out the breath she had been holding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morrow continued to crouch in front of Tom, gripping a large rock as his only weapon. "Th..that sounds like the weapons fire is on the ground." he stammered.

"The Captain must have sent an away team down to the surface." Tom's voice was becoming quite raspy. He shivered as he tried to listen for sounds of approaching Romulans. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and the weapons fire outside ceased. The cave became strangely quiet.

Morrow clutched the rock tighter in his hand as he heard someone moving in from the entrance of the cave. One of the Romulans suddenly ran into the cave, a phaser rifle in his hands. He motioned for Morrow to move away from Tom and aimed the rifle at him.

Morrow slowly stood up but kept the rock in his hand. He stepped in front of Tom, shielding him from the Romulan who once again motioned him to one side. As the Romulan raised his rifle, Morrow charged him throwing the rock at his head. The Romulan ducked to one side avoiding the rock. His phaser rifle discharged striking Morrow in the leg. Morrow fell to the floor of the cave and watched in alarm as the Romulan took several steps towards Tom and aimed the rifle at his chest.

"Morrow, are you OK?" Tom tried to shout. He heard footsteps and his heart began to race, as he feared the rest of the Romulans were coming for them. He heard a familiar voice order the Romulan to drop his weapon and heard two blasts from phaser rifles and the thud of a body hitting the floor of the cave. "Morrow, what's happening? Who's there?" Tom asked anxiously as he heard others enter the cave.

"Doctor, check on Morrow." Chakotay ordered as he moved to Tom's side. In the light from his wrist lamp, he could see the burns on Tom's hands and face in stark contrast to the younger man's fair skin. He also noted the vacant stare in Tom's eyes.

"C..commander, is that you?" Tom stammered as he began to shiver uncontrollably, both from the cold and fear. "Is Morrow OK?"

Chakotay put his hand on Tom's left shoulder to reassure him. "Yes, Tom. It's Chakotay. You're safe now. Morrow has a leg wound but he'll be fine." He noted how pale Tom's face was and that his lips were turning blue. "It must be below 0 in here." He pulled his jacket off and put it around Tom just as the Doctor came forward and began to scan Tom with his tricorder.

"Well, Mr. Paris, I see you'll be gracing my sickbay once again." The Doctor stated as he pulled a hypospray from his medkit and held it against the side of Tom's neck. "This will help with the pain until we can get back to the Delta Flyer."

"D..doc, it's good to hear your v..voice." Tom whispered as he slumped back against the wall of the cave. Relief from the pain was evident on his face, as the hypospray took effect.

The Doctor finished his scan and motioned Tuvok and Chakotay to one side. "We need to get both men back to Voyager. They are both suffering from hypothermia and exposure. Crewman Morrow has a mild concussion and phaser burns. He'll be fine."

"And Ensign Paris, Doctor?" Tuvok questioned.

"Mr. Paris suffered severe electrical and chemical burns to his hands and face. Both corneas as well as his larynx have been burned. In addition, his right arm has been refractured."

"Will he recover fully, Doctor?" Chakotay hesitated in asking.

"I believe so. But we must get him to sickbay as soon as possible." the Doctor replied, concern evident in his voice.

Harry had gone over to Tom after the Doctor and Chakotay moved away. "Hey, Tom. You picked a great place for a work break." he tried to lighten the mood.

Tom gave him a faint smile as he replied. "Well, you know, Harry, I'm always looking for someplace new to explore." He sounded tired and Harry thought he looked like hell but at least he could still joke about the situation. "We'll get you back to Voyager soon, Tom."

"Ensign Kim, return to the shuttle and, when we are clear of the cave entrance, you are to institute a transport directly to the Delta Flyer." Tuvok turned to Harry.

"Aye, Sir." Harry answered. He took a last look at his friend and hurried out of the cave. Tuvok moved to the Romulan's side as the Doctor scanned him with the tricorder.

"He's dead, Lieutenant." the Doctor announced as he stood and closed the tricorder.

Chakotay returned to Tom's side. "Can you stand?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Tom's reply was barely a whisper. "I..I'll need help." Chakotay grabbed Tom's left arm and helped him to stand, then placing his right arm around Tom's waist he led him from the cave. Lieutenant Ayala had put his coat around Morrow and was assisting him from the cave.

When the six men exited the cave Tuvok called for a transport to the aft section of the Delta Flyer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ensign Kim to Voyager." Harry sat at the communications console in the Delta Flyer.

"Captain Janeway here, Harry. What do you have to report?" Janeway's calm voice concealed her concern for the crewmembers on the surface.

The relief was clear in Harry's reply. "We found them Captain. Tom and Morrow are hurt but they're both alive. Darwin was killed on the shuttle. As soon as they're clear of the cave, we'll beam them to the flyer. The Doctor checked them both out and we'll need to get them both to sickbay but he thinks they'll be OK."

"That's good news, Harry. Transporters are still down but I'll have a medical crew meet you in the shuttle bay to bring them to sickbay. Janeway out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just then, Harry heard Tuvok requesting a beam out. He initiated the transport and went below to meet them. 

Chakotay helped Tom to one of the two biobeds as Morrow sat on the other one. He then motioned Lieutenant Ayala to the helm. Tuvok and Lieutenant Baxter went to the Ops and Tactical stations. The Doctor approached Tom with another hypospray in his hand.

"Mr. Paris, I'm going to give you some Tri-ox to help with your breathing." he held the hypospray to the side of Tom's neck." I also need to put some drops in your eyes to keep your corneas moist. They might prove to be uncomfortable." he produced a small vial and carefully administered two drops in Tom's eyes.

Tom drew in a quick breath as the drops entered his eyes. "Uncomfortable, Doc? That burns like hell. Always the master of understatement." He closed his eyes, his face showing the obvious pain.

Harry slowly approached the biobed, concern for his friend showing on his face. "Tom, how are you doing?" he asked quietly, touching Tom's shoulder in reassurance although he wasn't sure if it was Tom or himself that needed the reassurance.

Tom opened his eyes although it was obvious that he couldn't see Harry standing at his side. "I've been better, Harry." he managed to rasp out his throat threatening to close from the chemical burns. "Hey, Har, if you're back here, who's at the helm? It's not Chakotay is it?" Tom sounded worried and possessive of his Flyer.

"Tom......" Harry hesitated as he saw Chakotay standing in the doorway. The Commander grinned at Harry and motioned him to keep quiet.

"Come on, Harry. You know Chakotay's reputation for crashing shuttles. Is he at the helm?" Tom whispered.

"No, Paris. I'm not at the helm." Chakotay stated as he moved to Tom's side. The Doctor returned to the biobed and Chakotay turned to him. "How is he, Doctor?"

"He'll need treatment for the chemical burns on his corneas and larynx. The fractures can be regenerated. I'd like to keep him in sickbay for at least 48 hours to let his eyes heal properly but Mr. Paris should be able to return to duty after three days." The Doctor checked the readings on the biobed and moved to Crewman Morrow's side.

"Chakotay...I...didn't mean anything about your flying." Tom stammered.

"No offense taken, Paris. I know how protective you are towards the Flyer. I'm sorry we couldn't get down to you sooner."

"That's OK. I knew you'd find us eventually." Tom said as his eyes began to close. The ordeal on the planet was finally catching up to him. He drifted off to sleep and Chakotay returned to the bridge area of the Flyer.

They approached Voyager and the shuttle bay doors opened. Lieutenant Ayala guided the Flyer into the shuttle bay where the medical crew was waiting. The Doctor accompanied Tom and Morrow to sickbay while Tuvok and Chakotay went to the Captain's ready room. They reported on the away mission and Morrow's role in the harassment of Tom over the past several weeks.

to be continued....


	16. Chapter 16

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 16

The Doctor sat at his desk and began dictating his status report on Ensign Paris. He was detailing Tom's injuries and the treatments he had performed, when he heard the outer doors open. Looking up, he saw Captain Janeway enter sickbay and walk to Tom's side. He got up and joined her in the surgical bay.

"Doctor, I know your initial report sounded favorable but I wanted to see for myself how Mr. Paris is doing." She looked down at the pilot with a pensive expression on her face. "I should have been more aware of what was happening on my ship. I should have never sent Tom out with Darwin and Morrow." Her voice was hoarse with emotion.

The Doctor placed a hand on her arm and looked at her with genuine concern on his face. "Captain, Mr. Paris did an excellent job of hiding his attacks. I was not even aware of them. Perhaps we were all fooled by his ability to push people away when he has a problem. I have observed that Mr. Paris does not feel comfortable talking about what bothers him. He seems to feel that he should be able to handle everything himself."

"I'm sure that comes from his childhood. His father was very strict and demanding of Tom from a very early age." The Captain cleared her throat as she reached out and touched Tom's shoulder. _'Tom looks so young and vulnerable. I have to let him know that he needs to let people get close to him when he's having difficulties.' _She turned towards the exit doors and spoke quietly to the Doctor. "Please let me know when Mr. Paris awakens. I need to talk to him about the events on the planet's surface."

"Of course, Captain." he answered in an equally quiet voice. "And, Captain, he's going to be alright." He watched her exit sickbay without a backward glance. _'The mantle of command is indeed a heavy one.' _he thought as he walked back into his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Captain Janeway paced in front of the window in her ready room. She had asked Chakotay and Tuvok to join her there. She had just finished reading the Doctor's report on Tom's injuries. The blast from the communications console's explosion had resulted in electrical burns to Tom's face and hands. He had suffered chemical burns to his larynx and corneas. His right forearm had been fractured again. The Doctor had healed the burns to his skin and regenerated the broken bones in his right arm. He had needed surgery to repair the damage to his corneas and was undergoing treatment for the burns in his throat. He was expected to make a full recovery and be able to return to duty in three days. Her pacing was interrupted by the chime at the corridor doors. "Enter." she ordered.

Chakotay and Tuvok entered the ready room and stood in front of the Captain's desk. She motioned to them to sit down and turned the communications screen towards them so they could read the Doctor's report.

"It would appear, Captain, that Ensign Paris is going to make a full recovery from the injuries he suffered on the planet." Tuvok stated in his usual calm voice.

"The Doctor assures me that Mr. Paris will be fit to return to his post in three days. I understand that Crewman Morrow is fully recovered from his injuries as well." Janeway said.

"Yes, Captain, the phaser burns and injuries from the shuttle crash have been healed. Morrow is currently in the brig awaiting charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a superior officer." Tuvok answered.

Chakotay shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Morrow had been on the Liberty ship under his command and had not gotten into trouble before with any of the Maquis or Starfleet crew. "Captain, what do you intend to do with Morrow?" he asked.

The Captain leaned forward in her chair and clasped her hands under her chin as she gazed at Chakotay. "If we were in the Alpha Quadrant, Commander, he would face a Court Martial and no doubt be sentenced to a long prison term. What would you have done on the Liberty?" she asked.

"He would have been thrown in the brig until we could assign him to another cell within the Maquis." Chakotay answered evenly returning her gaze.

"Crewman Morrow was attempting to shield Ensign Paris from the Romulan's weapon, Captain. My initial interview with him indicates that he was aiding Crewman Darwin in the assaults and did not actually inflict any of the injuries." Tuvok stated.

"Regardless of his behavior on the planet and his intimidation by Frank Darwin, he did participate in several assaults on a superior officer that resulted in serious injuries. If Commander Chakotay had not come across Mr. Paris outside of his quarters after the last attack he might have died from his injuries." Captain Janeway's voice rose as the anger and frustration increased, since she was unable to prevent one of her crew from being injured. She knew that most of the anger was due to her own sense of guilt, for not protecting Tom as well as her anger towards him, for not reporting the attacks.

"I believe that the next step in this incident would be to question Mr. Paris about what happened on shuttle and on the planet's surface." Tuvok stated in his composed manner.

"I've asked the Doctor to notify me when Tom awakens. We'll be able to question him then. Until we hear from the Doctor you two are dismissed." she said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

B'Elanna entered sickbay quietly and stood looking at the figure on biobed one. The lights were low over the surgical bay and the room was quiet. Tom was curled on his left side, his face was pale even in the lowered lighting. The Doctor was adjusting a clear mask over Tom's nose and mouth. The Doctor looked up and gave B'Elanna a small smile as he walked towards her.

"How is he, Doctor?" B'Elanna asked quietly, not taking her eyes off of Tom.

"He'll be fine, Lieutenant. I've regenerated the fractures to his right arm and the burns on his hands and face. He needed surgical repairs to his corneas but due to my excellent care he'll have no problems returning to the helm." The Doctor answered with a rather smug look on his face.

B'Elanna ignored the boasting as she gazed at Tom. She did not realize the depths of her feelings for the pilot until they had thought him dead. "What about his throat?" she asked as she remembered the warmth in Tom's voice whenever he talked to her.

"His larynx will be just fine. I'm giving him a nebulizer treatment right now that will ease his breathing. His voice will be a little rough for a few days and he might have some difficulty swallowing but he should be fine within 72 hours." The Doctor answered with a more gentle tone of voice as he noticed B'Elanna's concern for the young pilot evident on her face.

"Lieutenant Carey to Lieutenant Torres. You're needed in Engineering, Chief. We're ready to get the warp drive back on-line." Joe Carey's voice came over the communications system.

B'Elanna gave Tom another wistful look and turned towards the exit doors. "Take care of him, OK?" She glanced at the Doctor and headed into the corridor.

He smiled as the doors slid shut and walked back to the biobed. He glanced at the readings and satisfied with the results, went to his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry had joined the engineering staff as they began bringing the warp drive on-line. He manned one of the operations consoles in engineering and monitored the plasma levels. Once the warp drive was up and functioning, he moved to B'Elanna's side. "You were in sickbay. How's Tom doing?"

B'Elanna turned away from the main console and looked into Harry's dark eyes. She could see the concern for his friend clearly on his face. For all their battles and dealings with aliens, Harry was still so very young. "The Doctor said that he'd be fine in a few days, Harry. He'll have a sore throat but will be able to return to duty in 72 hours." B'Elanna answered in a quiet voice. She felt a chill go up her spine as she realized how seriously Tom had been hurt and what that meant to her. _'Why is he getting to me? He's just a friend like Harry. No..not quite like Harry._' "What do you say Starfleet, how about some dinner?" B'Elanna smiled and grabbed Harry's arm pulling him out of engineering.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doors to sickbay slid open and the Doctor looked up from the console in his office. He saw Commander Chakotay enter and walk over to the surgical bay. He stood quietly looking at the monitors over the biobed. Shaking his head slowly he turned back to the doors. The Doctor started to stand but, sensing that the Commander wished to be alone with his thoughts, he resumed studying his console. The doors slid shut as Chakotay exited sickbay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Captain Janeway savored her first sip of hot coffee in the morning as she cradled the mug in her hands. The warm liquid did not take away the chill she felt over the events of the past two months: her ship had been tailed by both the Kazon and Romulan ships, they had been attacked repeatedly with damage to many of the ships systems, they had lost valuable time on their journey to the Alpha Quadrant, and Tom Paris had been assaulted numerous times by two members of her crew. The warp drive was now back on-line and repairs had been made to the ships systems. She knew the crew was ready to resume their heading for home.

Janeway's thoughts were interrupted by the Doctor's voice. "Sickbay to the Captain. Mr. Paris is starting to awaken."

"Thank you, Doctor. I'm on my way." She put the mug of coffee down on her desk and walked onto the bridge. "Lieutenant , you're with me." She motioned Tuvok to follow her into the turbolift. "Sickbay." she ordered the computer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Captain and Tuvok entered sickbay. The lights over the biobed were lowered and the Doctor was talking quietly to Tom. The back of the biobed was raised so Tom was able to sit up. The two officers walked towards the surgical bay. They could not hear Tom's voice but his face had more color than the night before. The Doctor looked up as they approached and turned back to Tom. "You have company, Mr. Paris." 

The Captain put her hand on Tom's shoulder. "How are you feeling, Tom?" she asked.

He turned and looked up at her with clear blue eyes. Giving her a small grin he answered. "I'm much better this morning, Captain." His voice was low and rough and he winced slightly as he spoke.

"We would like to ask you a few questions, Ensign." Tuvok said.

The Doctor glanced at the monitor over the biobed and turned to Tuvok. "Lieutenant, please keep your questions to a minimum. Mr. Paris is not ready for lengthy conversations.

"Captain, I..I'm sorry about Frank Darwin. I tried to get him to stand down and put his phaser away when the Romulans boarded the shuttle." Tom looked at Janeway with guilt and regret in his eyes.

"Ensign, you were not responsible for Crewman Darwin's death. Crewman Morrow informed us about the events on the planet's surface." Tuvok stated.

"Captain, Morrow is still very young and he was intimidated by Darwin. He didn't act on his own will." Tom swallowed hard and pain was evident in his face. "He helped me in the caves. Go easy on him."

"Captain, Lieutenant, you need to continue this at a later time." the Doctor moved to Tom's side. He picked up the plastic mask that was attached to the biobed by a clear tube and placed it over Tom's mouth and nose. "This nebulizer will ease the pain in your throat, Mr. Paris."

The Captain gave Tom a concerned look as the hiss of the treatment began. Tom's face relaxed as the medicine reached his throat. "We'll come back later today, Tom. Get some rest."

Tom nodded at the Captain as he sank back into the cushion on the biobed and closed his eyes. Janeway and Tuvok turned and exited sickbay. They walked down the corridor and entered the turbolift. "The brig." Janeway ordered as the doors slid shut.

to be continued.....


	17. Chapter 17

****

Consequences

Disclaimer - Paramount and Viacom own the characters from Voyager, although they didn't often treat them right. The story line belongs to me. 

A special thanks to: My friend and editor of all my stories, Mill3rs.

Chapter 17

As the Captain and Tuvok entered the brig, Mike Ayala stood up from his station. Although he had been on the Maquis ship, he and Tom had become close friends in their time together on Voyager. "Captain, Lieutenant, how is Tom doing?"

"Ensign Paris is doing well, Lieutenant. The Doctor stated that he should be released from sickbay tomorrow." Tuvok answered his officer. "Please lower the force field."

The energy crackled as the force field in front of the small cell was lowered. Captain Janeway and Tuvok entered and Morrow stood to meet them. He stood at attention but did not speak. Janeway looked closely at him and wondered again how he could have taken part in the brutal attacks on Tom Paris. _'Tom is right. He's so young, as are so many of the former Maquis crewmembers. To be so far from their homes and families at such a young age is hard on them all.' _"Crewman, how are you? Your injuries are thoroughly healed?" she asked.

"Yes, Captain, I'm fine now." He answered quickly and glanced away in embarrassment.

"Crewman Morrow, you have been accused of assault with a deadly weapon on a superior officer. What do you have to say for yourself?" Janeway asked.

"Captain, I have no d..defense for my actions. I believed Darwin without determining if what he was saying was true. I aided him in several attacks on Ensign Paris and c..cracked the entry codes to his quarters so Darwin could go in and trash them." Morrow answered in a low, shaky voice but stood tall and looked directly at the Captain.

"Crewman, Ensign Paris has spoken on your behalf and requested leniency for you." Tuvok stated.

"Lieutenant Tuvok has also put in a good word for you. He told me how you protected Ensign Paris in the cave and cared for him until the away team arrived. Your offenses are quite serious and you must still face the consequences of your actions." Janeway stated in a steady voice with a sympathetic look on her face.

Morrow stood at attention and looked straight at the Captain. "I'm prepared for my sentence, Captain."

"Crewman James Morrow, you are guilty of numerous assaults on a superior officer. It is has been recommended that I be lenient in handing down your sentence. I have listened to both Lieutenant Tuvok and Ensign Paris and have taken these recommendations into account. I hereby sentence you to 60 days in the brig to be followed by 60 days confinement to quarters when not on duty. In addition, you will lose your replicator rations for the 120 days of your sentence. These rations will be placed in Ensign Paris's account. Is that clear?" Janeway stood looking up at the young man before her.

"Yes, Captain, very clear." Morrow let out his breath but continued to stand at attention as Janeway and Tuvok left his cell. "Captain, thank you."

Janeway glanced back at Morrow. "Lieutenant Ayala, please raise the force field." Janeway ordered as she turned to leave.

"Captain." Morrow called out to her and she turned back to his cell. "Please give Tom, er, Ensign Paris my thanks."

"I will, Crewman." She stated as she gave him a slight smile, turned, and walked out the door with Tuvok at her side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next afternoon B'Elanna entered sickbay and smiled as she saw Tom sitting up on biobed one. She could hear his soft voice as he argued with the Doctor about getting out of sickbay. He was not making any progress as she could see the EMH shaking his head.

"Mr. Paris, 72 hours means exactly that, 72 hours and not a minute less." The Doctor stated.

B'Elanna noted that the Doctor's sharp tone of voice was tempered by the caring look he gave his most frequent patient. She strode over to the biobed and nodded at the Doctor as he busied himself at the nearest console. "Hi." She said softly to Tom and gave him a small smile. "Do you want anything?"

"Yeah, I want to get out of here." Tom answered quietly. The Doctor glared at him and he knew he would not be going anywhere soon. He looked back at B'Elanna and then at the Doctor and asked. "How about a chocolate milkshake?" When the Doctor nodded his approval, B'Elanna walked over to the replicator. She returned to the biobed with a large glass with two straws in it. 

****

"Uh, B'Elanna, why 2 straws?" Tom asked in a confused voice.

With a small smile, B'Elanna answered. "You don't think you could drink this whole thing by yourself in your weakened state do you?" 

Tom returned her smile as she held the glass up to him and he took a sip through the straw. He winced slightly when he swallowed but gave her a grin as she leaned forward to take a drink. "That tastes great, cold and very rich. Thanks." Tom said.

The Doctor walked off to his office with a small smile on his face, knowing that Tom was getting just the medicine he needed right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days later, Captain Janeway sat at the desk in her ready room reviewing one of the PADD's in the stack in front of her. She picked up her coffee mug and took a sip, grimacing slightly when she tasted the cold liquid inside. She stood up and turned towards the replicator when the chime announced someone at her door. "Come in." she said.

The door slid open and Tom Paris walked in, stopped at the desk, and stood at attention. "You wanted to see me before my shift, Captain?" he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Paris. Please have a seat." She motioned him towards the couch under her window. "I was just about to get myself a hot cup of coffee. Would you care for anything?"

"The Doc wants me to lay off the caffeine for a bit. Some Vulcan Spice tea would be good, thank you, Captain." Tom answered as he took a seat on the couch.

Janeway ordered the drinks from the replicator and brought them to the small table by the window. Placing the mugs down, she addressed the communication system. "Commander Chakotay, please join me in my ready room." She sat next to Tom and gave him a warm smile. "How are you feeling, Tom?"

Tom was a little surprised that she used his first name but gave her a tentative smile in return. "I'm fine, Captain. The Doc certified me ready to return to duty."

The Captain picked up her mug and took a long drink of the fresh coffee. She smiled as the hot liquid slid down her throat. "I don't mean what the Doctor reports, Tom. You've been through a lot in the past few months. How are 'you'?" Janeway asked again as she leaned towards Tom. 

Tom took a sip of tea, swallowed, and set the mug back down on the table. Taking a deep breath he looked at the Captain. "I guess I'm relieved that it's all over now and I can get on with my job."

As Tom was speaking, the door from the bridge slid open and Chakotay entered the room. Tom's face clouded over, sure that he was in some sort of trouble again. He relaxed back into the couch when Chakotay flashed him a slight grin.

"Commander, would you care for some coffee or tea?" Janeway asked.

"Tea would be alright, Captain." Chakotay answered as he walked to the replicator and ordered a cup. He then took a seat in the chair across from Tom and the Captain. He had heard the exchange between Janeway and Tom as he entered from the bridge. Chakotay took a drink of his tea and sat forward in his chair. "Why didn't you come to us when the attacks started, Paris?" He asked in his quiet voice.

Tom's face reddened slightly and he looked away from Chakotay. "I thought that the first time was an isolated incident. It was dark and I didn't know who was there. When it happened again, I guess I didn't realize it was the same crewmembers."

"But you took medical supplies from sickbay and were treating the injuries in your cabin. Morrow admitted that your quarters had been trashed. How long were you going to let it go on until you asked for help?" Chakotay persisted.

Tom looked down at the floor and slowly raised his head to look into the Commander's eyes. "I...I thought I could handle it myself. I guess I thought it didn't matter." He paused and took a couple of shaky breaths and looked away again. "I thought that I didn't matter." he whispered.

Chakotay shook his head at the younger man's pronouncement. "Tom, I know we have not always gotten along but no one on this ship deserves the treatment you received. Yes, you've made mistakes in your past, we all have, but you have paid the price for all of them."

Janeway leaned forward and put her hand on Tom's arm. "Tom, you aren't the same man who came on board at DS9, you've grown. You are a very valuable member of this crew. I realize that the incident with the Moneans was hard on you, that I was hard on you. Tom, now you need to feel that you can trust us. You need to let other people get close to you."

"I..I'll try, Captain." Tom answered with a hesitant smile as he looked up at her. He picked up the mug and finished off his tea.

Captain Janeway took another sip of her coffee and put the mug down on the table. Smiling at her two officers, she stood up from the couch. "Well, let's get this ship back on track for home." The two men joined her and the headed for the bridge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry gave Tom a big grin as he passed the OP's station. "Meet you later for lunch?"

"Sure thing, Harry." Tom returned the grin as he stepped down towards the conn.

Tom relieved the Gamma shift pilot at the helm as Janeway and Chakotay took their seats.

"Mr. Paris, set a course for the Alpha Quadrant, Warp 6." Janeway ordered.

"Aye, Captain." Tom replied as his fingers punched in the coordinates.

Janeway sat back in her seat with a small sigh. "Engage."

THE END


End file.
